Twilight and PJatO read The Last Olympian
by maleenaangel
Summary: The PJO characters are from the Mark of Athena and the Twilight characters are from the end of Eclipse, they all go to Olympus,to read the last olympian, THIS IS A TEAM JACOB STORY, kinda anti-edward, Aphrodite and Athena help get Bella and Jacob together, with the help of the demigods and some surprise guests - just a note - I'm not the best updater, sorry -
1. Chapter 1: introductions and screaming

**A/n: Disclaimer: I don't own The Twilight Saga, all rights go to Stephanie Myer and I don't own PJatO and HoO, all rights go to Rick Riordan**

**A/n: Hi, I know this a weird crossover but these are too of my favourite book series, The PJO characters are from the end of Son of Neptune Mark of Athena and the Twilight characters are from the end of Eclipse, they all go to Olympus, which is set in the end of Lightning thief. In addition, this story is TEAM JACOB, so sorry Edward lovers.**

**So enjoy!**

Athena's P.o.v

I walked in too the throne room early, to do some planning for the upcoming war, just before the meeting, even though Zeus had considered the matter closed, but I knew that my planning would get us far, and hopefully Kronos wouldn't rise again. Still lost in thought I entered the Throne room, to find it empty other then me and another, approaching closer I was wonderstruck by the sight I saw, there was Aphrodite on her throne, reading a book!

"Aphrodite? Are you reading?" I asked, there was something suspicious about this

Aphrodite put her head up and a grin spread across her face.

"Oh, hey Athena, Yes I am reading, it's called Eclipse from the Twilight Saga!" Aphrodite explained, showing me a black book with a ribbon that was almost ripped near the top

"Well this is a surprise; I didn't know you liked to read!" I said grinning back at her; maybe she wasn't such an airhead after all.

Aphrodite grinned back for a while, but then her expression changed to a grimace.

"What's wrong? Don't you like the book?" I asked her

"Oh no! I love this book, it's just, and well…I think the romance is messed up." She said looking at the cover

"How so?" I questioned getting interested; I'm not gooey over romance but that does not mean I don't like to read it.

"Oh well, there is this girl and she has two guys in love with her, and one of them is her best friend who is a werewolf, and the other is a vampire she met, but she chooses the vampire and has completely broken the werewolf's heart!" Aphrodite explained

"Well, that good isn't it!" I said, this was the way Aphrodite worked. Wasn't it? Breaking heart after heart?

"No, it is not good, Edward can just get lost, because I see Bella and Jacob as the perfect match, if this was up to me I would make them into the perfect couple, like Percy and Annabeth!" She complained, making me angry when my daughter was mentioned

"Well, I don't think you could do anything since they don't exist!" I came to a decision

"But, why can't I just go to the author and talk some sense into her." Aphrodite moaned

"Aphrodite, you can't-" I was cut off as the rest of the Olympians came into the room for the meeting.

After they had settled down, there was a flash of light and 22 figures appeared into the room.

Percy's P.o.v

Annabeth and I were spending a bit of alone time, after the meeting, everyone had met with Reyna. I finally met the famous Jason everyone was talking about and his friends Leo and Piper, there was Nico (who I should strangle) and Thalia who I found out was Jason's sister (Not even half but full), obviously Octavian has had made some useless futile remarks about Greeks, so I had to restrain myself from hitting him.

Then there was a flash of light and all of us appeared on Olympus with eleven people we didn't know.

Jacob's P.o.v

What the hell was Bella doing marrying that bloodsucking leech, I got my invite for their wedding, but I decided I won't go, instead I'll go to Canada, where finally I can get my mind at peace.

She said she loved me, but she also said she loved the bloodsucker too, how is that possible? Can you be in love with two people at once?

'_Jacob! Stop thinking about her! Just move on!'_ I yelled at myself

I transformed into a wolf and let myself run free in the forest, and before I knew it, I had appeared in a throne room with giants, the Cullens, Bella, Quil, and Embry and 11 people I didn't know.

No one's P.o.v

"I demand to know who you are and what you are doing here!" Zeus demanded glaring at all the people in the room

"Wait you didn't call us here?" Percy said confused

"And who are they!" he pointed to the twilight gang

"Whoa! Why are you guys so huge!" Emmet exclaimed

"I had no idea why we are here!" Bella said

The two sets of people looked at each other in confusion. Suddenly a box fell out of the sky with an attached to it. Annabeth picked it up and read:

_Dear Demigods, Olympians, humans, vampires and werewolves,_

_You were sent here to read books, one from each set of people and see the mistakes you are making and are about to make, everyone must introduce with FULL introductions, and the Olympians must! Explain to the twilight gang. There will be no interruptions_

_Enjoy!_

_Maleena _

"Err…are we the twilight gang!" Jacob said

"Seems like it!" Quil replied

Zeus cleared his throat and began to explain about Greek mythology and when everyone understood the introductions began:

Jacob's P.o.v

The Demigods went first

"Hi, I'm Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon, saviour of Olympus and praetor of Camp Jupiter, I am I6 years old!" Said a boy with green eyes and black messy hair

All the Olympians looked surprised, and Poseidon beamed

"Hi, I'm Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena, Architect of Olympus, and I am 16 years old!" said a girl with curly blonde hair and grey eyes

Athena beamed

"Hi, I'm Thalia Grace, Daughter of Zeus, lieutenant of Artemis and I am forever 15 years old!" said a girl with blue eyes and punk style hair

Artemis and Zeus beamed

"Hey, I'm Nico Di Angelo, Son of Hades, Ghost king, the Ambassador of Pluto and I am 13, but should be over 70!" said a boy with black hair and black clothes

Hades beamed

"Hey, I'm Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, praetor of Camp Jupiter, and the brother of Thalia grace, and also the defeater of Krios and I am 15!" said a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes

Zeus beamed and Hera glared at him

"Hey, I am Piper Mclean, Daughter of Aphrodite, and charm speaker, I am 15!" said a girl with choppy brown hair and colour changing eyes

Aphrodite beamed

"Hey there, I'm Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus and fire user, I am 15!" Said a boy with curly black hair

Hephaestus beamed

"Hi, I'm Hazel Lévesque, Daughter of Pluto, and I am 13 but I have come back from the underworld!" said a girl with gold eyes

Hades beamed

"Hey, I'm Frank Zhang, Son of Mars, and I am 16!" said a bulky boy with a babyish face

Ares beamed

"I am Reyna, Daughter of Bellona, and Praetor of camp Jupiter, I am 15!" said a girl with long brown hair

Ares beamed again, anyone with war is good for him

"I am Rachel, I am human and the oracle of Delphi, I am forever 16!" said a girl with red hair

Apollo cheered

Now it was our turn

Edward stepped forward

"I am Edward Cullen, Vampire, mind reader, and forever 17!"

Aphrodite's and Athena's eyes were wide

Alice stepped forward

"Hi, I'm Alice Cullen, Vampire, I have visions, and I am forever 17!"

Aphrodite's eyes were even wider

"Jasper Hale, Vampire, I can control emotions and I am forever 17!"

Aphrodite was smiling

"Emmet Cullen, Vampire, I am forever 19!"

She was shaking in her seat

"Rosalie Hale, Vampire, forever 19!"

She was almost exploding

"Esme and Carlisle Cullen parents of Cullens and Hales!"

Aphrodite had covered her mouth to stop screaming in excitement

"Quil and Embry, werewolves and 16 years old!"

She was almost a shooting star

"Bella Swan, human and 18, engaged to Edward!"

Aphrodite and Athena both looked at each other In shock and excitement

Finally, I stepped forward

"Jacob Black, Werewolf, 16 years old!"

Aphrodite squealed, she stood up and said

"We have to leave!" and she grabbed Athena and both of them disappeared,

What the heck was that about?

"Lets wait for them to come back then we can begin." Zeus said

**what do you think? please review!**


	2. Chapter 2: cruises and explosives

**A/n: Disclaimer: I own nothing **

**Sorry for any OOC-ness **

Aphrodite's p.o.v

I grabbed Athena's arm and flashed out of the room. Yes! Woo hoo! Yes! I could finally get Bella to fall for Jacob. Ohmigoodess! I bet this Maleena person heard me and now gave me a chance to fix things.

"OMG! This is fate! It can not be a coincidence that they ended up here, Athena you have to help me get them together!" I shrieked in excitement

"Why should I help you?" Athena said giving me a stern and annoyed look

"But, you're the Goddess of wisdom and you have the best plans!" I admitted truthfully

"True, but I don't know…" Athena trailed off

"Tell you what, I'll give you the books and tell me what you think!" I said, as I clicked my fingers and the four books appeared,

I gave them to Athena and entered the Throne room gracefully and seated myself on my throne. Athena came in a little while later, still clutching the books, she sat down and we waited for Zeus to begin

"So, what did you do?" Apollo leaned over and asked nosily

"Girl stuff!" I answered

"Like…!" he hinted

I rolled my eyes at him, _'trust boys to nosy!_'

There was a hitting noise

"OUCH! Sis that hurt!" he pouted

"What ever Aphrodite and Athena were doing is none of your business, and don't call me sis!" Artemis warned him firmly

"Ergh! Can we hurry up reading please; I want to catch the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie: at world's end!" Apollo complained, shooting Artemis a dirty look.

"Wait what year is this?" Athena's kid Annabeth asked

"Why are you asking wise girl?" Percy said

"Because that movie came out in 2007!"

"It is 2007!" Athena answered

"But we are from the year 2012!" Annabeth said shocked

"So are we!" Said Emmet

"We must have gone back in time!" they realized As everyone was talking,

I wasn't listening that much, all I had on my mind was my plan.

'_How could I work my plan if Edward and Alice Knew?_' I realized,

so, I said: "Anyway, Edward and Alice, I had blocked your abilities for a while, do not question why!" I announced

They both just looked miffed

"Why don't I read the book is called** Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian**!" Zeus said

The Demigods groaned

"**I go cruising with explosives!" **Zeus read

"Are all the chapters like this?" Jasper asked

"Knowing, that it's Percy, probably!" Nico sniggered

"Hey!" Percy pouted

**The end of the world started when a Pegasus landed on the hood of my car.**

"Yo, Pegasuses exist; I thought they were a myth!" Quil said

"We're supposed to be a myth but we exist!" Athena said

"Good point!"

**Up until then, I was having a great afternoon. Technically I wasn't supposed to be driving because I wouldn't turn sixteen for another week, but my mom and my stepdad, Paul, took my friend Rachel and me to this private stretch of beach on the South Shore, and Paul let us borrow his Prius for a short spin.**

Annabeth narrowed her eyes

"That is really irresponsible!" Athena scolded

Rachel realized which chapter it was and made an excuse to leave

**Now, I know you're thinking, Wow, that was really irresponsible of him, blah, blah, blah, but Paul knows me pretty well. **

"At least you know it's irresponsible!"

**He's seen me slice up demons and leap out of exploding school buildings, so he probably figured taking a car a few hundred yards wasn't exactly the most dangerous thing I'd ever done.**

"Wow! And I thought our lives hard!" Jacob said

**Anyway, Rachel and I were driving along. It was a hot August day. Rachel's red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a white blouse over her swimsuit. I'd never seen her in anything but ratty T-shirts and paint-splattered jeans before,**

"I really got to help her fashion sense!" Alice grimaced and I smiled

'_I like her_!' I thought

**And she looked like a million golden drachmas.**

Annabeth glared at Percy, who shivered

"**Oh, pull up right there!" she told me.**

**We parked on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic. The sea is always one of my favorite places, but today it was especially nice-glittery green and smooth as glass, as though my dad was keeping it calm just for us.**

"Course I would, I wouldn't want to ruin your date!" Poseidon chuckled

Annabeth looked furious, as I felt jealousy coming off her

**My dad, by the way, is Poseidon. He can do stuff like that.**

"**So." Rachel smiled at me. "About that invitation."**

"What invitation!" Annabeth growled

"Somebody's jealous!" Jacob sang, even though she didn't know him, Annabeth glared at him

"**Oh . . . right." I tried to sound excited. I mean, she'd asked me to her family's vacation house on St. Thomas for three days. I didn't get a lot of offers like that. My family's idea of a fancy vacation was a weekend in a rundown cabin on Long Island with some movie rentals and a couple of frozen pizzas, and here Rachel's folks were willing to let me tag along to the Caribbean.**

"That's really nice of her!" Alice said

**Besides, I seriously needed a vacation. This summer had been the hardest of my life. The idea of taking a break even for a few days was really tempting.**

Then take a break, there's nothing wrong with that!" Jasper said

**Still, something big was supposed to go down any day now. I was "on call" for a mission. Even worse, next week was my birthday. There was this prophecy that said when I turned sixteen, bad things would happen.**

"What would happen?" Bella asked

"Any child of Zeus, Hades, or Poseidon would have to make a choice to destroy or save the world, once they turn 16!" Thalia explained

"Sounds dangerous!" Bella said looking interested, as I had heard she was a danger magnet

"I'm ok, because the hunters never age, Nico is 16 in 3 years, Percy is almost 17, and Jason is 15, so we have a war coming up,"

"**Percy," she said, "I know the timing is bad. But it's always bad for you, right?"**

**She had a point.**

"**I really want to go," I promised. "It's just-"**

"**The war."**

**I nodded. I didn't like talking about it, but Rachel knew. Unlike most mortals, she could see through the Mist-the magic veil that distorts human vision. **

"Can we see through the mist?" Carlisle asked

"Since, you are supposed to be a myth too, I think you can!"

**She'd seen monsters. She'd met some of the other demigods who were fighting the Titans and their allies. She'd even been there last summer when the chopped-up Lord Kronos rose out of his coffin in a terrible new form, and she'd earned my permanent respect by nailing him in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush.**

"He rose!" Hermes said, he it was Luke, they had to prevent it this happening

Everyone else burst out laughing, "Nice, going Rach!" and then noticed she wasn't in the room.

**She put her hand on my arm. "Just think about it, okay? We don't leave for a couple of days. **

**My dad. .." Her voice faltered.**

Bella realized something, her dad must be wondering where she is

"My Dad would probably be wondering where we are!" Bella said suddenly

A note appeared

_Hi there, do not worry, time is frozen, you cannot leave Olympus, until all the books are done_

_Maleena _

Bella sighed with relief and leaned back on to Edward's shoulder

I saw Jacob with a pained expression as he looked away, and I knew I would have to take action fast

"**Is he giving you a hard time?" I asked.**

**Rachel shook her head in disgust. "He's trying to be nice to me, which is almost worse. He wants me to go to Clarion Ladies Academy in the fall."**

"**The school where your mom went?"**

"**It's a stupid finishing school for society girls, all the way in New Hampshire. Can you see me in finishing school?"**

"Nope, the type of clothes she wears tells me she won't fit in!" Rosalie said

**I admitted the idea sounded pretty dumb. Rachel was into urban art projects and feeding the homeless and going to protest rallies to "Save the Endangered Yellow-bellied Sapsucker" and stuff like that. I'd never even seen her wear a dress. It was hard to imagine her learning to be a socialite.**

Everyone agreed

**She sighed. "He thinks if he does a bunch of nice stuff for me, I'll feel guilty and give in."**

"**Which is why he agreed to let me come with you guys on vacation?"**

"**Yes . . . but Percy, you'd be doing me a huge favor. It would be so much better if you were with us. Besides, there's something I want to talk-" She stopped abruptly.**

"What could be so series that you have to go to ST. Thomas to talk about it?" Apollo asked

"**Something you want to talk about?" I asked. "You mean . . . so serious we'd have to go to St. Thomas to talk about it?"**

"See, Percy asked the same thing, so answer me!" Apollo said

There was no answer

**She pursed her lips. "Look, just forget it for now. Let's pretend we're a couple of normal people. We're out for a drive, and we're watching the ocean, and it's nice to be together."**

Annabeth grumbled under her breath

**I could tell something was bothering her, but she put on a brave smile. The sunlight made her hair look like fire.**

'_Why did I put, these two together?' _I asked myself

'_I know! Maybe too make her jealous!' _I came to a conclusion

**We'd spent a lot of time together this summer. I hadn't exactly planned it that way, but the more serious things got at camp, the more I found myself needing to call up Rachel and get away, just for some breathing room. **

Annabeth's hand went to her belt; the Demigods looked at the Twilight gang cautiously as if to say '_do not anger her, if you want to live!" _

**I needed to remind myself that the mortal world was still out there, away from all the monsters using me as their personal punching bag.**

"**Okay," I said. "Just a normal afternoon and two normal people."**

"Well, as normal as a Demigod could be!"

**She nodded. "And so . . . hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?"**

Annabeth looked murderous, "at least they didn't kiss," she muttered

Percy looked horrified

"**Oh . . ." I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows-slow, dumb, and bright red. "Um . . ."**

"Hey!" Apollo protested

**I can't pretend I hadn't thought about Rachel. She was so much easier to be around than . . . well, than some other girls I knew. **

Annabeth had her knife at Percy's throat

"So, I'm not easy am I!" she growled

"This is before I knew I liked you!" Percy said

"Annabeth! Weapon away!" Athena said firmly

TG (twilight gang) looked impressed, teenagers with weapons

"Sorry, mum!"

**I didn't have to work hard, or watch what I said, or rack my brain trying to figure out what she was thinking. Rachel didn't hide much. She let you know how she felt.**

"So, know it's my fault, is it!" Annabeth said

**I'm not sure what I would have done next-but I was so distracted, I didn't notice the huge black form swooping down from the sky until four hooves landed on the hood of the Prius with a WUMP-WUMP-CRUNCH!**

"Blackjack!" Nico and Percy yelled

**Hey, boss, a voice said in my head. Nice car!**

**Blackjack the Pegasus was an old friend of mine, so I tried not to get too annoyed by the craters he'd just put in the hood; but I didn't think my stepdad would be real stoked.**

"No shit!" Nico said

"Nico, language!" Thalia said firmly

"**Blackjack," I sighed. "What are you-?"**

**Then I saw who was riding on his back, and I knew my day was about to get a lot more complicated.**

"When is it not complicated!" Frank said and Hazel agreed

"**Sup, Percy."**

**Charles Beckendorf, senior counselor for the Hephaestus cabin, would make most monsters cry for their mommies. He was huge; with ripped muscles from working on the forges every summer, two years older than me, and one of the camp's best armor smiths. He made some seriously ingenious mechanical stuff. **

Hephaestus smiled, Leo leaned forward getting interested, and the Demigods looked sad, the twilight gang wondered what could happen next

'_I wonder what happened, why are they so sad?_' I thought

**A month before, he'd rigged a Greek firebomb in the bathroom of a tour bus that was carrying a bunch of monsters across country. The explosion took out a whole legion of Kronos's evil meanies as soon as the first harpy went flush.**

"Harpy went flush, hilarious!" Hermes laughed

**Beckendorf was dressed for combat. He wore a bronze breastplate and war helm with black camo pants and a sword strapped to his side. His explosives bag was slung over his shoulder.**

"**Time?" I asked.**

**He nodded grimly.**

**A clump formed in my throat. I'd known this was coming. We'd been planning for it for weeks, but I'd half hoped it would never happen.**

"That is how I always feel," Bella said I could tell she was thinking about the wedding

"You don't want to get married?" Edward

I tuned in to Jacob's thoughts, he was chanting

'_Say no! Say no! say no! _Over and over

"Course I did, I'm just nervous!" Bella said reassuringly putting her head on his chest

As I watched, Jacob looked broken and in a split second, he looked normal again

**Rachel looked up at Beckendorf. "Hi."**

"**Oh, hey. I'm Beckendorf. You must be Rachel. Percy's told me . . . uh, I mean he mentioned you."**

"Yeah right, mentioned, I believe ya!" Hermes scoffed

**Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Really? Good." She glanced at Blackjack, who was clopping his hooves against the hood of the Prius. "So I guess you guys have to go save the world now."**

"If you weren't demigods then that would sound weird!" Emmet said chuckling

"**Pretty much," Beckendorf agreed.**

**I looked at Rachel helplessly. "Would you tell my mom-?"**

"**I'll tell her. I'm sure she's used to it. And I'll explain to Paul about the hood."**

**I nodded my thanks. I figured this might be the last time Paul loaned me his car.**

"No-!"

"Nico, what did I tell you," Thalia cut him off

"I heard you but that doesn't mean I'll listen!" Nico said

"Nico!"

"Who are you, my mum?"

"Honestly, you two fight like an old married couple!" Jacob laughed

Nico, Thalia, and Artemis looked furious

"Oops, wrong thing to say!" Jacob turned red

Everyone burst out laughing

"No shit!" Thalia swore, glaring at him

"Hey no fair, how come you can swear?" Nico pouted like a little kid

"Coz, I'm awesome!"

"**Good luck." Rachel kissed me before I could even react. "Now, get going, half-blood. Go kill some monsters for me."**

"WHAT! SHE KISSED YOU!" Annabeth shrieked, almost running Percy through with a knife

"Annabeth, calm down, this is the past, let it go!" Thalia shouted

**My last view of her was sitting in the shotgun seat of the Prius, her arms crossed, watching as Blackjack circled higher and higher, carrying Beckendorf and me, into the sky. I wondered what Rachel wanted to talk to me about, and whether I'd live long enough to find out.**

"Oh, he will, it's she that won't!" Annabeth said in undertone

"**So," Beckendorf said, "I'm guessing you don't want me to mention that little scene to Annabeth."**

Annabeth sulked

"**Oh, gods," I muttered. "Don't even think about it."**

**Beckendorf chuckled, and together we soared out over the Atlantic.**

**It was almost dark by the time we spotted our target. The Princess Andromeda glowed on the horizon-a huge cruise ship lit up yellow and white. From a distance, you'd think it was just a party ship, not the headquarters for the Titan lord. **

Poseidon looked worried. He was shaking

**Then as you got closer, you might notice the giant figurehead-a dark-haired maiden in a Greek chiton, wrapped in chains with a look of horror on her face, as if she could smell the stench of all the monsters she was being forced to carry.**

"Andromeda!" Said the TG, they remembered the story with Persuas

**Seeing the ship again twisted my gut into knots. I'd almost died twice on the Princess Andromeda. Now it was heading straight for New York.**

"Almost, died twice!" Poseidon said his voice a squeak

"**You know what to do?" Beckendorf yelled over the wind.**

**I nodded. We'd done dry runs at the dockyards in New Jersey, using abandoned ships as our targets. I knew how little time we would have. But I also knew this was our best chance to end Kronos's invasion before it ever started.**

"That's good, it could hold them off for longer!" Athena approved

"**Blackjack," I said, "set us down on the lowest stern deck."**

**Gotcha, boss, he said. Man, I hate seeing that boat.**

**Three years ago, Blackjack had been enslaved on the Princess Andromeda until he'd escaped with a little help from my friends and me. I figured he'd rather have his mane braided like My Little Pony than be back here again.**

Everyone laughed,

"Your thoughts are so funny percy!" Apollo said

"**Don't wait for us," I told him.**

**But, boss-**

"**Trust me," I said. "We'll get out by ourselves."**

**Blackjack folded his wings and plummeted toward the boat like a black comet. The wind whistled in my ears. I saw monsters patrolling the upper decks of the ship-dracaenaesnake-women, hellhounds, giants, and the humanoid seal-demons known as telkhines-but we zipped by so fast, none of them raised the alarm. **

"So many monsters, how did you get out of there?" Jacob said bewildered

The demigods just looked sad

**We shot down the stern of the boat, and Blackjack spread his wings, lightly coming to a landing on the lowest deck. I climbed off, feeling queasy.**

Nico started to laugh. Everyone looked at him weirdly

"A son of Poseidon is sea sick!" he said

"Dude, I wasn't sea sick!"

"But it said queasy!" Nico said confused

"The _other_ kind of queasy!" Percy explained

**Good luck, boss, Blackjack said. Don't let 'em turn you into horsemeat!**

**With that, my old friend flew off into the night. I took my pen out of my pocket and uncapped it,**

"You took a pen out of your pocket, what's a pen gonna do!" Emmet said

"You'll see!" Percy smirked

**In addition, Riptide sprang to full size-three feet of deadly Celestial bronze glowing in the dusk.**

"Oh, that's cool, it's a sword!"

**Beckendorf pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. I thought it was a map or something. Then I realized it was a photograph. He stared at it in the dim light-the smiling face of Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. **

"OH! I always knew, Silena liked him, I'm so happy for them!" I gushed

**They'd started going out last summer, after years of the rest of us saying, "Duh, you guys like each other!" Even with all the dangerous missions, Beckendorf had been happier this summer than I'd ever seen him.**

"That explains why I've been so moody!" Jacob muttered under his breath, glancing at Bella, but I still heard him,

"**We'll make it back to camp," I promised.**

**For a second I saw worry in his eyes. Then he put on his old confident smile.**

"**You bet," he said. "Let's go blow Kronos back into a million pieces."**

"Like I did," Zeus said smugly, Demeter, Hades, Hera, Poseidon rolled their eyes

**Beckendorf led the way. We followed a narrow corridor to the service stairwell, just like we'd practiced, but we froze when we heard noises above us.**

"**I don't care what your nose says!" snarled a half-human, half-dog voice-a telkhine. **

Everyone burst out laughing

"Can his nose speak?" Jacob said

"Wait, do we sound like dogs!" Embry asked

Everyone shook their heads, except for Edward who snorted

"**The last time you smelled half-blood, it turned out to be a meat loaf sandwich!"**

"That's what it meant!"

"**Meat loaf sandwiches are good!" a second voice snarled. "But this is half-blood scent, I swear. They are on board!"**

"**Bah, your brain isn't on board!"**

"Then where is it!"

**They continued to argue, and Beckendorf pointed downstairs. We descended as quietly as we could. Two floors down, the voices of the telkhines started to fade.**

Poseidon was muttering to himself

**Finally, we came to a metal hatch. Beckendorf mouthed the words "engine room."**

**It was locked, but Beckendorf pulled some chain cutters out of his bag and split the bolt like it was made of butter.**

**Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned and hummed. Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall. A telkhine was hunched over a console, but he was so involved with his work, he didn't notice us. **

"That's just weird, a dog on a computer!" Nico said

Jacob narrowed his eyes

"I didn't mean it like that dude!"

**He was about five feet tall, with slick black seal fur and stubby little feet. He had the head of a Doberman, but his clawed hands were almost human. He growled and muttered as he tapped on his keyboard. Maybe he was messaging his friends on .**

"Or dogfacebook!" Nico suggested

"Or uglitter!" Thalia put forward

"Or Dogspace!" Emmet recommended

"Or Dog tube!" Jacob advised

**I stepped forward, and he tensed, probably smelling something was wrong. He leaped sideways toward a big red alarm button, but I blocked his path. He hissed and lunged at me, but one slice of Riptide, and he exploded into dust.**

"Nice!"

"**One down," Beckendorf said. "About five thousand to go." He tossed me a jar of thick green liquid-Greek fire, one of the most dangerous magical substances in the world. Then he threw me another essential tool of demigod heroes-duct tape.  
**

"I didn't know you lot had special duct tape, what can it do!" Emmet asked

"That was sarcasm Emmet!" Rosalie rolled her eyes

"Oh, I knew that!"

"**Slap that one on the console," he said. "I'll get the turbines."**

**We went to work. The room was hot and humid, and in no time, we were drenched in sweat.**

**The boat kept chugging along. Being the son of Poseidon and all, I have perfect bearings at sea. Don't ask me how, but I could tell we were at 40.19° North, 71.90° West, making eighteen knots, which meant the ship, would arrive in New York Harbor by dawn. This would be our only chance to stop it.**

"I wish I had perfect bearings at sea!" Jacob said

"Why?" Quil asked

"It's cool!"

**I had just attached a second jar of Greek fire to the control panels when I heard the pounding of feet on metal steps-so many creatures coming down the stairwell I could hear them over the engines. Not a good sign.**

**I locked eyes with Beckendorf. "How much longer?"**

"**Too long." He tapped his watch, which was our remote control detonator. "I still have to wire the receiver and prime the charges. Ten more minutes at least."**

**Judging from the sound of the footsteps, we had about ten seconds.**

"So you are going to distract them, I take it kelp head!" Thalia said

"Yep pinecone face!"

"Fish face!"

"Airhead!"

"Seaweed brain!"

"Sparky!"

"_Sparky_?" Thalia questioned

"Yep!" Percy said

Thalia rolled her eyes

As everyone watched in amusement

"**I'll distract them," I said. "Meet you at the rendezvous point."**

"**Percy-"**

"**Wish me luck."**

**He looked like he wanted to argue. The whole idea had been to get in and out without being spotted. But we were going to have to improvise.**

"**Good luck," he said.**

**I charged out the door.**

"Did you have your sword open?" Athena asked

"Err…yes!" Percy squeaked

"Idiot, you know monsters can sense celestial bronze, you really are a sea spawn, I bet you get it from fish face over there!" Athena rolled her eyes

"Hey!" Poseidon protested

**A half dozen telkhines were tromping down the stairs. I cut through them with Riptide faster than they could yelp. I kept climbing-past another telkhine, who was so startled he dropped his Lil' Demons lunch box. I left him alive-partly, because his lunch box was cool, **

"What the hell, you kept him alive because his lunchbox was cool!" Thalia said

"Yep!"

"Seaweed brain!" She muttered rolling her eyes

**Partly so he could raise the alarm and hopefully get his friends to follow me rather than head toward the engine room.**

"That's a good idea!"

**I burst through a door onto deck six and kept running. I'm sure the carpeted hall had once been very plush, but over the last three years of monster occupation the wallpaper, carpet, and stateroom doors had been clawed up and slimed so it looked like the inside of a dragon's throat (and yes, unfortunately, I speak from experience).**

"Experience!" Poseidon passed out

"Err…is he ok!" Jacob said

"Leave him, he'll be fine!"

**Back on my first visit to the Princess Andromeda, my old enemy Luke had kept some dazed tourists on board for show, shrouded in Mist so they didn't realize they were on a monster-infested ship. Now I didn't see any sign of tourists. I hated to think what had happened to them, but I kind of doubted they'd **

**Been allowed to go home with their bingo winnings.**

"Oh those poor people, I hope they were ok!" Esme said in a motherly way

"Why would you care, you eat humans don't you!" Nico said bluntly

The Cullens looked furious,

"For your information, we only hunt animal blood, you would know if we drank human blood because our eyes would be read!" Edward hissed causing Bella to look scared and inch away from him

"Edward be nice, Nico didn't know!" Alice said

"Let's just say, Hollywood got it all wrong!" Alice explained softly

**I reached the promenade, a big shopping mall that took up the whole middle of the ship, and I stopped cold. In the middle of the courtyard stood a fountain. And in the fountain squatted a giant crab.**

**I'm not talking "giant" like $7.99 all-you-can-eat Alaskan king crab. I'm talking giant like bigger than the fountain. The monster rose ten feet out of the water. Its shell was mottled blue and green, its pincers longer than my body.**

"Whoa, how did you get through that?" Jacob said

"I've got godly skills!"

**If you've ever seen a crab's mouth, all foamy and gross, with whiskers and snapping bits, you can imagine this one didn't look any better blown up to billboard size. Its beady black eyes glared at me, and I could see intelligence in them-and hate. The fact that I was the son of the sea god was not going to win me any points with Mr. Crabby.**

"Of course not, they worship Oceanus!" Poseidon explained

"**FFFFffffff,"it hissed, sea foam dripping from its mouth. The smell coming off it was like a garbage can full of fish sticks that had been sitting in the sun all week.**

Are you talking from experience?"

"Yep!" Percy grimaced

**Alarms blared. Soon I was going to have lots of company and I had to keep moving.**

"**Hey, crabby." I inched around the edge of the courtyard. "I'm just gonna scoot around you so-"**

"Oh, that's fine coz he'll let you!" Thalia said sarcastically

**The crab moved with amazing speed. It scuttled out of the fountain and came straight at me, pincers snapping. One dove into a gift shop, plowing through a rack of T-shirts. A crab pincer smashed the glass walls to pieces and raked across the room. I dashed back outside, breathing heavily, but Mr. Crabby turned and followed.**

"**There!" a voice said from a balcony above me. "Intruder!"**

"At least you got the distraction you wanted!"

**If I'd wanted to create a distraction, I'd succeeded, but this was not where I wanted to fight. If I got pinned down in the center of the ship, I was crab chow.**

**The demonic crustacean lunged at me. I sliced with Riptide, taking off the tip of its claw. It hissed and foamed, but didn't seem very hurt.**

"Well duh, the armor's protected!" Annabeth retorted, she was still miffed about the Rachel thing

**I tried to remember anything from the old stories that might help with this thing. Annabeth had told me about a monster crab-something about Hercules crushing it under his foot? That wasn't going to work here. This crab was slightly bigger than my Reeboks.**

"Yeah, only slightly!" Leo rolled his eyes

**Then a weird thought occurred to me. Last Christmas, my mom and I had brought Paul Blofis to our old cabin at Montauk, where we'd been going forever. Paul had taken me crabbing, and when he'd brought up a net full of the things, he'd shown me how crabs have a chink in their armor, right in the middle of their ugly bellies.**

"Paul Blowfish!" Poseidon said

"No, Blofis!"

"Who knew spending time with Paul, would help me one day!"

**The only problem was getting to the ugly belly.**

**I glanced at the fountain, then at the marble floor, already slick from scuttling crab tracks. I held out my hand, concentrating on the water, and the fountain exploded. Water sprayed everywhere, three stories high, dousing the balconies and the elevators and the windows of the shops. The crab didn't care. It loved water. It came at me sideways, snapping and hissing, and I ran straight at it, screaming, "AHHHHHHH!"**

"You need a better battle cry!" Ares said

**Just before we collided, I hit the ground baseball-style and slid on the wet marble floor straight under the creature. It was like sliding under a seven-ton armored vehicle. All the crab had to do was sit and squash me, but before it realized what was going on, I jabbed Riptide into the chink in its armor, let go of the hilt, and pushed myself out the backside.**

"Wow!" Jason said impressed

**The monster shuddered and hissed. Its eyes dissolved. Its shell turned bright red as its insides evaporated. The empty shell clattered to the floor in a massive heap.**

**I didn't have time to admire my handiwork. I ran for the nearest stairs while all around me monsters and demigods shouted orders and strapped on their weapons. I was empty-handed. Riptide, being magic, would appear in my pocket eventually, but for now it was stuck somewhere under the wreckage of the crab, and I had no time to retrieve it.**

That's cool, a sword that return to your pocket!" Emmet said

"Yeah, like Jason's gladius," Piper said

"only problem is it broke!"

**In the elevator foyer on deck eight, a couple of dracaenae slithered across my path. From the waist up, they were women with green scaly skin, yellow eyes, and forked tongues. From the waist down, they had double snake trunks instead of legs. They held spears and weighted nets, and I knew from experience they could use them.**

"They sound scary!" Bella said

"Nothing werewolves can't take!" Jacob said

"**What isss thisss?" one said. "A prize for Kronosss!"**

**I wasn't in the mood to play break-the-snake, but in front of me was a stand with a model of the ship, like a YOU ARE HERE display. I ripped the model off the pedestal and hurled it at the first dracaena. The boat smacked her in the face and she went down with the ship. I jumped over her, grabbed her friend's spear, and swung her around. She slammed into the elevator, and I kept running toward the front of the ship.**

"You should have killed her!"

"**Get him!" she screamed.**

**Hellhounds bayed. An arrow from somewhere whizzed past my face and impaled itself in the mahogany-paneled wall of the stairwell.**

**I didn't care-as long as I got the monsters away from the engine room and gave Beckendorf more time.**

"Oh, that's why you didn't have time to kill her!" Leo understood!"

**As I was running up the stairwell, a kid charged down. He looked like he'd just woken up from a nap. His armor was half on. He drew his sword and yelled, "Kronos!" but he sounded more scared than angry. He couldn't have been more than twelve-about the same age I was when I'd first arrived at Camp Half-Blood.**

**That thought depressed me. This kid was getting brainwashed-trained to hate the gods and lash out because he'd been born half-Olympian. Kronos was using him, and yet the kid thought I was his enemy.**

**No way was I going to hurt him. I didn't need a weapon for this. I stepped inside his strike and grabbed his wrist, slamming it against the wall. His sword clattered out of his hand.**

"There are demigods joining Kronos!" Athena asked worriedly

"Yep, it's what helped him rise!"

**Then I did something I hadn't planned on. It was probably stupid. It definitely jeopardized our mission, but I couldn't help it.**

"**If you want to live," I told him, "get off this ship now. Tell the other demigods." Then I shoved him down the stairs and sent him tumbling to the next floor.**

"Percy sometimes it's good to be heartless!" Thalia said

"Obviously she would know!" Nico muttered rubbing several bruises on his arms given to min by Thalia

**I kept climbing.**

**Bad memories: a hallway ran past the cafeteria. Annabeth, my half brother Tyson, and I had sneaked through here three years ago on my first visit.**

"HALF BROTHER!" Zeus screamed

"He's a Cyclops!"

**I burst outside onto the main deck. Off the port bow, the sky was darkening from purple to black. A swimming pool glowed between two glass towers with more balconies and restaurant decks. The whole upper ship seemed eerily deserted.**

**All I had to do was cross to the other side. Then I could take the staircase down to the helipad-our emergency rendezvous point. With any luck, Beckendorf would meet me there. We'd jump into the sea. My waterpowers would protect us both, and we'd detonate the charges from a quarter mile away.**

**I was halfway across the deck when the sound of a voice made me freeze. "You're late, Percy."**

"Luke!" The demigods said sadly, except for Reyna, Leo, Piper, and Jason

Hermes shivered

**Luke stood on the balcony above me, a smile on his scarred face, he wore jeans, a white T-shirt, and flip-flops, like he was just a normal college-age guy, but his eyes told the truth. They were solid gold.**

"**We've been expecting you for days." At first, he sounded normal, like Luke. Then his face twitched. A shudder passed through his body as though he'd just drunk something really nasty. His voice became heavier, ancient, and powerful-the voice of the Titan lord Kronos. The words scraped down my spine like a knife blade. "Come, bow before me."**

"Like that'll happen!" Percy said

"**Yeah, that'll happen," I muttered.**

"Stop repeating yourself!" Nico said

**Laistrygonian giants filed in on either side of the swimming pool as if they'd been waiting for a cue. Each was eight feet tall with tattooed arms, leather armor, and spiked clubs. Demigod archers appeared on the roof above Luke. Two hellhounds leaped down from the opposite balcony and snarled at me. Within seconds, I was surrounded. A trap: there's no way they could've gotten into position so fast unless they'd known I was coming.**

"There must be a spy at camp!" Athena said looking at the Demigods

They just looked at her sadly

**I looked up at Luke, and anger boiled inside me. I didn't know if Luke's consciousness was even still alive inside that body. Maybe, the way his voice had changed . . . or maybe it was just Kronos adapting to his new form. I told myself it didn't matter. Luke had been twisted and evil long before Kronos possessed him.**

**A voice in my head said: I have to fight him eventually. Why not now?**

"Percy! Are you mental?" Reyna asked,

"Yep he is!" Thalia said and they both high fived

"Oh great, another one against me!" Percy muttered

"Don't worry Perce, I'm with you!" Nico said

Percy glared at him

**According to that big prophecy, I was supposed to make a choice that saved or destroyed the world when I was sixteen. That was only seven days away. Why not now? If I really had the power, what difference would a week make? I could end this threat right here by taking down Kronos. Hey, I'd fought monsters and gods before.**

"Gods!" The TG gang looked wowed

"Don't forget Titans!" Percy said smugly

"Who?"

"Lapetus!" Thalia asked

"Or in other words Bob!" Nico added and at that they all burst out laughing

The big three Gods looked at each other questioningly

**As if reading my thoughts, Luke smiled. No, he was Kronos. I had to remember that.**

"**Come forward," he said. "If you dare."**

**The crowd of monsters parted. I moved up the stairs, my heart pounding. I was sure somebody would stab me in the back, but they let me pass. I felt my pocket and found my pen waiting. I uncapped it, and Riptide grew into a sword.**

**Kronos's weapon appeared in his hands-a six-foot-long scythe, half-Celestial bronze, half-mortal steel. Just looking at the thing made my knees turn to Jell-O. But before I could change my mind, I charged.**

"You idiot, you could have killed your self!" Annabeth flew at him with a hug

"It's better that letting others die!" He muttered

That got me thinking again, '_what possibly could have happened?'_

**Time slowed down. I mean literally slowed down, because Kronos had that power. I felt like I was moving through syrup. My arms were so heavy; I could barely raise my sword. Kronos smiled, swirling his scythe at normal speed and waiting for me to creep toward my death.**

**I tried to fight his magic. I concentrated on the sea around me-the source of my power. I'd gotten better at channeling it over the years, but now nothing seemed to happen.**

"No no no no!" Poseidon chanted

**I took another slow step forward. Giants jeered. Dracaenae hissed with laughter.**

**Hey, ocean, I pleaded. Any day now would be good.**

**Suddenly there was a wrenching pain in my gut. The entire boat lurched sideways, throwing monsters off their feet. Four thousand gallons of salt water surged out of the swimming pool, dousing me and Kronos and everyone on the deck. The water revitalized me, breaking the time spell, and I lunged forward.**

Poseidon sighed with relief

**I struck at Kronos, but I was still too slow. I made the mistake of looking at his face-Luke's face-a guy who was once my friend. As much as I hated him, it was hard to kill him.**

"Percy come on be heartless!" Thalia advised

**Kronos had no such hesitation. He sliced downward with his scythe. I leaped back, and the evil blade missed by an inch, cutting a gash in the deck right between my feet.**

**I kicked Kronos in the chest. He stumbled backward, but he was heavier than Luke should've been. It was like kicking a refrigerator.**

"Why on earth would you kick a refrigerator?" Jacob asked

"I was mad that day!"

**Kronos swung his scythe again. I intercepted with Riptide, but his strike was so powerful, my blade could only deflect it. The edge of the scythe shaved off my shirtsleeve and grazed my arm. It shouldn't have been a serious cut, but the entire side of my body exploded with pain. I remembered what a sea demon had once said about Kronos's scythe: Careful, fool. One touch and the blade will sever your soul from your body. Now I understood what he meant. I wasn't just losing blood. I could feel my strength, my will, my identity draining away.**

"No, he is here, he is okay!" Poseidon muttered to himself

**I stumbled backward, switched my sword to my left hand, and lunged desperately. My blade should've run him through, but it deflected off his stomach like I was hitting solid marble. There was no way he should've survived that.**

"he's a titan!" Athena said as if it was obvious

**Kronos laughed. "A poor performance, Percy Jackson. Luke tells me you were never his match at swordplay."**

**My vision started to blur. I knew I didn't have much time. "Luke had a big head," I said. "But at least it was his head."**

"**A shame to kill you now," Kronos mused, "before the final plan unfolds. I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus."**

"Oh no, you won't!" Zeus said dramatically

"**You'll never get this boat to Manhattan." My arm was throbbing. Black spots danced in my vision.**

"**And why would that be?" Kronos's golden eyes glittered. His face-Luke's face-seemed like a mask, unnatural and lit from behind by some evil power. "Perhaps you are counting on your friend with the explosives?"**

Athena gasped, "he knew!"

**He looked down at the pool and called, "Nakamura!"**

**A teenage guy in full Greek armor pushed through the crowd. His left eye was covered with a black patch. I knew him, of course: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis. I'd saved his life in the Labyrinth last summer, and in return, the little punk had helped Kronos come back to life.**

"Percy, I am gonna teach you to be Heartless!" Thalia said

"**Success, my lord," Ethan called. "We found him just as we were told."**

**He clapped his hands, and two giants lumbered forward, dragging Charles Beckendorf between them. My heart almost stopped. Beckendorf had a swollen eye and cuts all over his face and arms. His armor was gone and his shirt was nearly torn off.**

Hephaestus looked worried

"**No!" I yelled.**

**Beckendorf met my eyes. He glanced at his hand like he was trying to tell me something. His watch. They hadn't taken it yet, and that was the detonator. Was it possible the explosives were armed? Surely, the monsters would've dismantled them right away.**

"**We found him amidships," one of the giants said, "trying to sneak to the engine room. Can we eat him now?"**

"wait, trying to sneak in to the engine room!" Athena noticed

"I think he has already armed the explosives and made it look as though he was going there!" Carlisle said

"Yep, that was what I was thinking too!" Athena said impressed

"**Soon." Kronos scowled at Ethan. "Are you sure he didn't set the explosives?"**

"**He was going toward the engine room, my lord."**

"**How do you know that?"**

"**Er . . ." Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "He was heading in that direction. And he told us. His bag is still full of explosives."**

"thank Gods; he was dumb enough not to check!" Athena said

**Slowly, I began to understand. Beckendorf had fooled them. When he'd realized he was going to be captured, he turned to make it look like he was going the other way. He'd convinced them he hadn't made it to the engine room yet. The Greek fire might still be primed! But that didn't do us any good unless we could get off the ship and detonate it.**

"Oh dear!" I muttered

Something told me, one of them wouldn't get off and glancing around the room I knew who and why the demigods looked so sad.

**Kronos hesitated.**

**Buy the story, I prayed. The pain in my arm was so bad now I could barely stand.**

"**Open his bag," Kronos ordered.**

**One of the giants ripped the explosives satchel from Beckendorf's shoulders. He peered inside, grunted, and turned it upside down. Panicked monsters surged backward. If the bag really had been full of Greek fire jars, we would've all blown up. But what fell out were a dozen cans of peaches.**

"you know, you should have taken extra explosives, and then you would have a better cover up story!" Apollo said absentmindedly

We all stared at him,

'_That was pretty clever_!'

**I could hear Kronos breathing, trying to control his anger.**

"**Did you, perhaps," he said, "capture this demigod near the galley?"**

**Ethan turned pale. "Um-"**

"**And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?"**

"Shit! He worked it out!" Jacob said

"So not fair, Jacob can swear!" Nico pouted

"Well, he is older than you and looks about 25!" Thalia said

**Ethan scrambled back in terror then turned on his heels and ran.**

**I cursed silently. Now we had only minutes before the bombs were disarmed. I caught Beckendorf's eyes again and asked a silent question, hoping he would understand: How long?**

**He cupped his fingers and thumb, making a circle. Zero. There was no delay on the timer at all. If he managed to press the detonator button, the ship would blow at once. We'd never be able to get far enough away before using it. The monsters would kill us first, or disarm the explosives, or both.**

"I have a bad feeling about this!" Alice said

**Kronos turned toward me with a crooked smile. "You'll have to excuse my incompetent help, Percy Jackson. But it doesn't matter. We have you now. We've known you were coming for weeks."**

**He held out his hand and dangled a little silver bracelet with a scythe charm-the Titan lord's symbol.**

**The wound in my arm was sapping my ability to think, but I muttered, "Communication device . . . spy at camp."**

"so there is a spy, tell me who it is now so I can go vaporize them!" Zeus boomed at the demigods

"Zeus, this is one of our children being misled!" Athena sort of scolded

"humph!" Zeus pouted

**Kronos chuckled. "You can't count on friends. They will always let you down. Luke learned that lesson the hard way. Now drop your sword and surrender to me or your friend dies."**

**I swallowed. One of the giants had his hand around Beckendorf's neck. I was in no shape to rescue him, and even if I tried, he would die before I got there. We both would.**

**Beckendorf mouthed one word: Go.**

some of the girls were crying, Rachel entered the room but Annabeth was too sad too notice

**I shook my head. I couldn't just leave him.**

**The second giant was still rummaging through the peach cans, which meant Beckendorf's left arm was free. He raised it slowly-toward the watch on his right wrist.**

**I wanted to scream, NO!**

**Then down by the swimming pool, one of the dracaenae hissed, "What isss he doing? What isss that on hisss wrissst?"**

**Beckendorf closed eyes tight and brought his hand up to his watch.**

"No!" Hephaestus and Leo muttered they both looked close to tears

**I had no choice. I threw my sword like a javelin at Kronos. It bounced harmlessly off his chest, but it did startle him. I pushed through a crowd of monsters and jumped off the side of the ship-toward the water a hundred feet below.**

**I heard rumbling deep in the ship. Monsters yelled at me from above. A spear sailed past my ear. An arrow pierced my thigh, but I barely had time to register the pain. I plunged into the sea and willed the currents to take me far, far away-a hundred yards, two hundred yards.**

**Even from that distance, the explosion shook the world. Heat seared the back of my head. The Princess Andromeda blew up from both sides, a massive fireball of green flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything.**

"A true hero, I will make sure he goes too Elysium!" Hades Assured Hephaestus

**Beckendorf, I thought.**

**Then I blacked out and sank like an anchor toward the bottom of the sea.**

"You were ok weren't you?" Poseidon asked

"Yeah I was fine dad, you found me!"

"That's the end of the chapter!" Zeus said

"Thy don't we have dinner," Hera announced

Everyone stood up

"Wait, Me and Athena need to talk to the Demigods and Werewolves, everyone else can go!" I said

I kissed Hephaestus's cheek; he was my husband after all

As Ares scowled

"Don't worry!" I whispered to him

When they had gone, Athena and I turned to the Demigods and Werewolves

**Hi there I hoped you liked it, Please review, if you have any ideas please tell me!**


	3. Chapter 3: fishy relatives

**A/n: disclaimer: I own nothing **

Aphrodite's p.o.v

Athena and I reduced ourselves to human size, as the Demigods and Werewolves watched apprehensively. I straight away faced Jacob and came out with the question.

"Tell me the truth Jacob, Do you love Bella?" I asked him staring into his eyes

Jacob looked taken aback and began to stutter

"I…err…what…why…!" he said looking everywhere but at me

"Please Jacob, don't do this, I am the Goddess of Love, trust me I know!" I told him sternly

Jacob finally admitted defeat and said

"Fine, I love her!" he said

I let out a squeal, shaking with excitement. Athena ignored me and said

"Well…Aphrodite has a plan to help make Bella yours!" Athena replied

"Please don't do anything to hurt her, I can't force her too come to me!"

"Don't worry; my plan will make her fall for you!" I assured

"Demigods I need all your help for this too,"

I turned to the girls, first Annabeth "Nope, with Percy!"

I turned to Thalia "Nope, hunter, Artemis will kill me!"

I turned to Piper "Nope, with Jason!" Piper blushed

I turned to Rachel "Nope, oracle!"

I turned to Hazel "Nope, with Frank

Finally, I turn to Reyna "Perfect, single and pretty!"

"Reyna, will you help me!" I asked her, as she watched Jason and Piper holding hands

"Fine! I help you Lady Aphrodite!"

"Great, all of you gather round!" Everyone gathered and then I told them my Plan and then we all went in to the kitchen to get dinner.

Athena P.o.v

I have too admit, Aphrodite's plan is not complete rubbish. I am actually looking forward to reading the four books she has given me. Still deeply lost in thought, Apollo nudged me

"Yo, what are you and Aphrodite hiding?" He asked nosily

"Apollo, just eat and mind your own business!" I told him sternly

"Don't worry me and Hermes will find out!"

I rolled my eyes at him

Jacob's P.o.v

The guys and I seated ourselves at the table near Bella and the Cullens. I loaded my plate and began to eat quickly, trying to take my mind of the plan, how could I do this to Bella, if she wasn't willing to come to me then why? Aphrodite said there was no force involved but I wasn't so sure.

"Why did Aphrodite and Athena keep you and the Guys back?" Bella asked, her soft smoldering brown eyes burning into mine, and I had to stop myself blurting the truth.

"It's Werewolf stuff!" I answered lamely

"It's the Goddess of love and the Goddess of Wisdom; I don't think this has anything to do with Werewolves!" Bella retorted

"Fine, they think I'm lonely and want to find me a match!" I blurted half the truth

Bella did not look convinced, for a second she looked hurt, but that faded.

"If only I could read your mind Dog, I'd tell Bella the truth!" Edward-leech said clutching a mug of something that looked like blood

"I'm not lying, go ask Aphrodite or Athena!" I remarked and quickly left, to avoid anymore with the Guys following me, to avoid any more questions.

No one's p.o.v

An hour later, everyone gathered back into the throne room and this time Hestia joined them.

"**I meet some fishy relatives**!" Hera began

**Demigod dreams suck.**

"Yep, they do!" Percy said and the Demigods agreed

**The thing is they're never just dreams. They've got to be visions, omens, and all that other mystical stuff that makes my brain hurt.**

"Wow Perce I didn't know you had a brain!" Thalia teased

**I dreamed I was in a dark palace at the top of a mountain. Unfortunately, I recognized it: the palace of the Titans on top of Mount Othrys, otherwise known as Mount Tamalpais, in California. The main pavilion was open to the night, ringed with black Greek columns and statues of the Titans. Torchlight glowed against the black marble floor. In the center of the room, an armored giant struggled under the weight of a swirling funnel cloud-Atlas, holding up the sky.**

The gods grimaced

Percy and Thalia looked sad, because of him, Zoe had died

**Two other giant men stood nearby over a bronze brazier, studying images in the flames.**

"**Quite an explosion," one said. He wore black armor studded with silver dots like a starry night. His face was covered in a war helm with a ram's horn curling on either side.**

Jason and Reyna looked at each other knowingly

"**It doesn't matter," the other said. This Titan was dressed in gold robes, with golden eyes like Kronos. His entire body glowed. He reminded me of Apollo, God of the Sun, except the Titan's light was harsher, and his expression crueler. **

Apollo glared at Percy, he was nothing like Hyperion

"**The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed."**

"Challenge? What challenge?" Athena asked

**The images in the fire were hard to make out: storms, buildings crumbling, mortals screaming in terror.**

"**I will go east to marshal our forces," the golden Titan said. "Krios, you shall remain and guard Mount Othrys."**

**The ram horn dude grunted. "I always get the stupid jobs. Lord of the South. Lord of Constellations. Now I get to babysit Atlas while you have all the fun."**

Everyone laughed at the thought of Atlas being babysat

**Under the whirlwind of clouds, Atlas bellowed in agony, "Let me out, curse you! I am your greatest warrior. Take my burden so I may fight!"**

"Yeah right, you deserve it!" Thalia spat

"**Quiet!" the golden Titan roared. "You had your chance, Atlas. You failed. Kronos likes you just where you are. As for you, Krios, do your duty."**

"**And if you need more warriors?" Krios asked. "Our treacherous nephew in the tuxedo will not do you much good in a fight."**

**The golden Titan laughed. "Don't worry about him. Besides, the gods can barely handle our first little challenge. They have no idea how many others we have in store. Mark my words, in a few days' time, Olympus will be in ruins, and we will meet here again to celebrate the dawn of the Sixth Age!"**

"There will never be a sixth age! Ever!" Zeus growled, daring anyone to question against him

**The golden Titan erupted into flames and disappeared.**

"**Oh, sure," Krios grumbled. "He gets to erupt into flames. I get to wear these stupid ram's horns."**

"I never thought I will hear a titan whining!" Apollo said laughing

**The scene shifted. Now I was outside the pavilion, hiding in the shadows of a Greek column. A boy stood next to me, eavesdropping on the Titans. He had dark silky hair, pale skin, and dark clothes-my friend Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades.**

"Nico, why are you there!" Thalia asked

"Can't tell you!" He said hurriedly,

'_Oh Shit!_' He thought '_Poseidon is going to kill me!_'

**He looked straight at me, his expression grim. "You see, Percy?" he whispered. "You're running out of time. Do you really think you can beat them without my plan?"**

"Plan? What plan?" Thalia said

As she saw Annabeth glaring at Nico

'_I wonder what he did!_' she thought

**His words washed over me as cold as the ocean floor, and my dreams went black.**

"**Percy?" a deep voice said.**

**My head felt like it had been microwaved in aluminum foil. I opened my eyes and saw a large shadowy figure looming over me.**

"Beckendorf?" Hephaestus and Leo said hopefully

"**Beckendorf?" I asked hopefully.**

"**No, brother."**

**My eyes refocused. I was looking at a Cyclops-a misshapen face, ratty brown hair, one big brown eye full of concern. "Tyson?"**

**My brother broke into a toothy grin. "Yay! Your brain works!"**

Everyone laughed

"Oh, he sounds adorable!" Aphrodite cooed

**I wasn't so sure. My body felt weightless and cold. My voice sounded wrong. I could hear Tyson, but it was more like I was hearing vibrations inside my skull, not the regular sounds. **

"Well, you are underwater!" Poseidon said calmly, happy now that Percy was now safe underwater, but still upset for Beckendorf

**I sat up, and a gossamer sheet floated away. I was on a bed made of silky woven kelp, in a room paneled with abalone shell. Glowing pearls the size of basketballs floated around the ceiling, providing light. I was under water.**

"Wow! I wish I went somewhere as cool as that!" Thalia said and Jason agreed

Zeus pouted as Poseidon smiled smugly

**Now, being the son of Poseidon and all, I was okay with this. I can breathe underwater just fine, and my clothes don't even get wet unless I want them to. But it was still a bit of a shock when a hammerhead shark drifted through the bedroom window, regarded me, and then swam calmly out the opposite side of the room.**

"It seems like the whole of the undersea know you too!" Apollo said

"Well, he's my son, I obviously tell everyone about him!" Poseidon said like it was obvious

"**Where-"**

"**Daddy's palace," Tyson said.**

**Under different circumstances, I would've been excited. I'd never visited Poseidon's realm, and I'd been dreaming about it for years. **

"Why don't I take you after we finish reading?"

"Thanks Dad!"

**However, my head hurt. My shirt was still speckled with burn marks from the explosion. My arm and leg wounds had healed-just being in the ocean can do that for me, given enough time-but I still felt like I'd been trampled by a Laistrygonian soccer team in cleats.**

"You've met Laistrygonians!" Poseidon asked worriedly

"Yep! But Tyson helped me!"

"**How long-"**

"**We found you last night," Tyson said, "sinking through the water."**

"**The Princess Andromeda?"**

"**Went ka-boom," Tyson confirmed.**

"**Beckendorf was on board. Did you find . . ."**

**Tyson's face darkened. "No sign of him. I am sorry brother."**

Hephaestus smiled sadly, as least his son died a hero

**I stared out the window into deep blue water. Beckendorf was supposed to go to college in the fall. He had a girlfriend, many friends, and his whole life ahead of him. He couldn't be gone. Maybe he'd made it off the ship like I had. Maybe he'd jumped over the side . . . and what? He couldn't have survived a hundred-foot fall into the water like I could. He couldn't have put enough distance between himself and the explosion.**

"Percy stop it, he died a hero!" Annabeth said

**I knew in my gut he was dead. He'd sacrificed himself to take out the Princess Andromeda, and I had abandoned him.**

"Percy, the next time you blame yourself, I will kill you personally!" Thalia threatened

"Leave him alone Thalia, loyalty is his fatal flaw!" Annabeth reminded

"what's a fatal flaw!" Alice asked

"Oh, one thing that Heroes have that could end the world, like mine is Power, Percy's is loyalty, Annabeth's is hubris and Nico's is grudges!" Thalia explained

The other Demigods thought, what could there's be

**I thought about my dream: the Titans discussing the explosion as if it didn't matter, Nico di Angelo warning me that I would never beat Kronos without following his plan-a dangerous idea I'd been avoiding for more than a year.**

Athena had a feeling she knew what it was

**A distant blast shook the room. Green light blazed outside, turning the whole sea as bright as noon.**

"**What was that?" I asked.**

**Tyson looked worried. "Daddy will explain. Come, he is blowing up monsters."**

"Ergh! Oceanus again!" Poseidon complained

**The palace might have been the most amazing place I'd ever seen if it hadn't been in the process of getting destroyed. We swam to the end of a long hallway and shot upward on a geyser. As we rose over the rooftops, I caught my breath-well, if you can catch your breath underwater.**

"What? What did you see?" Poseidon said worried, he thought Percy was safe underwater

**The palace was as big as the city on Mount Olympus, with wide courtyards, gardens, and columned pavilions. The gardens were sculpted with coral colonies and glowing sea plants. Twenty or thirty buildings were made of abalone, white but gleaming with rainbow colors. Fish and octopi darted in and out of the windows. The paths were lined with glowing pearls like Christmas lights.**

"Wow! Can we go?" Jacob asked giving Poseidon a puppy dog look

The Demigods and TG looked at him hopefully

"Sure! But you will have to wear oxygen packs!"**  
**

**The main courtyard was filled with warriors-mermen with fish tails from the waist down and human bodies from the waist up, except their skin was blue, which I'd never known before. Some were tending the wounded. Some were sharpening spears and swords. One passed us, swimming in a hurry. His eyes were bright green, like that stuff they put in glo-sticks, and his teeth were shark teeth. They don't show you stuff like that in The Little Mermaid.**

"Did you know, Triton from the little mermaid, supposed to be me, but mistaken for my son!" Poseidon said

"We don't care Poseidon!" Zeus said

**Outside the main courtyard stood large fortifications-towers, walls, and antisiege weapons-but most of these had been smashed to ruins. Others were blazing with a strange green light that I knew well-Greek fire, which can burn even underwater.**

"Wow!" Jacob said

**Beyond this, the sea floor stretched into gloom. I could see battles raging-flashes of energy, explosions, and the glint of armies clashing. A regular human would've found it too dark to see. Heck, a regular human would've been crushed by the pressure and frozen by the cold. Even my heat-sensitive eyes couldn't make out exactly what was going on.**

"A war!"

**At the edge of the palace complex, a temple with a red coral roof exploded, sending fire and debris streaming in slow motion across the farthest gardens. Out of the darkness above, an enormous form appeared-a squid larger than any skyscraper. It was surrounded by a glittering cloud of dust-at least I thought it was dust, until I realized it was a swarm of mermen trying to attack the monster. The squid descended on the palace and swatted its tentacles, smashing a whole column of warriors. Then a brilliant arc of blue light shot from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings. The light hit the giant squid, and the monster dissolved like food coloring in water.**

"**Daddy," Tyson said, pointing to where the light had come from.**

"Poseidon saves the day!" Apollo said Acting like a superhero

"**He did that?" I suddenly felt more hopeful. My dad had unbelievable powers. He was the god of the sea. He could deal with this attack, right? Maybe he'd let me help.**

"Percy, you belong above water, more need your help there!" Poseidon assured

"**Have you been in the fight?" I asked Tyson in awe. "Like bashing heads with your awesome Cyclops strength and stuff?"**

"I wouldn't let him, it's much too dangerous!" Poseidon shuck his head

"Poseidon you are too overprotective!" Athena said

**Tyson pouted, and immediately I knew I'd asked a bad question, "I have been . . . fixing weapons," he mumbled. "Come. Let's go find Daddy."**

**I know this might sound weird to people with, like, regular parents, but I'd only seen my dad four or five times in my life, and never for more than a few minutes. The Greek gods don't exactly show up for their kids' basketball games. Still, I thought I would recognize Poseidon on sight.**

"No, I change to affect the situation of my domain!" Poseidon sighed

**I was wrong.**

**The roof of the temple was a big open deck that had been set up as a command center. A mosaic on the floor showed an exact map of the palace grounds and the surrounding ocean, but the mosaic moved. Colored stone tiles representing different armies and sea monsters shifted around as the forces changed position. Buildings that collapsed in real life also collapsed in the picture.**

"It's like a prophecy!" Alice said

**Standing around the mosaic, grimly studying the battle, was a strange assortment of warriors, but none of them looked like my dad. I was searching for a big guy with a good tan and a black beard, wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.**

Like he was wearing the same.

**There was nobody like that. One guy was a merman with two fish tails instead of one. His skin was green, his armor studded with pearls. His black hair was tied in a ponytail, and he looked young-though it's hard to tell with non-humans. They could be a thousand years old or three. Standing next to him was an old man with a bushy white beard and gray hair. His battle armor seemed to weigh him down. He had green eyes and smile wrinkles around his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now. He was studying the map and leaning on a large metal staff. To his right stood a beautiful woman in green armor with flowing black hair and strange little horns like crab claws. And there was a dolphin-just a regular dolphin, but it was staring at the map intently.**

"Triton, Amphitrite, and Poseidon!" Apollo said

"**Delphin," the old man said. "Send Palaemon and his legion of sharks to the western front. We have to neutralize those leviathans."**

**The dolphin spoke in a chattering voice, but I could understand it in my mind: Yes, lord! It sped away.**

**I looked in dismay at Tyson, then back at the old man.**

**It didn't seem possible, but . . . "Dad?" I asked.**

"Seaweed brain, please research your Greek mythology!" Annabeth said hitting Percy on the head

**The old man looked up. I recognized the twinkle in his eyes, but his face . . . he looked like he'd aged forty years.**

"**Hello, Percy."**

"**What-what happened to you?"**

"Do you have to be so blunt?" Thalia said also hitting Percy

**Tyson nudged me. He was shaking his head so hard I was afraid it would fall off, but Poseidon didn't look offended.**

"**It's all right, Tyson," he said. "Percy, excuse my appearance. The war has been hard on me."**

"**But you're immortal," I said quietly. "You can look . . . any way you want."**

The Demigods shuck their heads

"**I reflect the state of my realm," he said. "And right now that state is quite grim. Percy, I should introduce you-I'm afraid you just missed my lieutenant Delphin, God of the Dolphins. This is my, er, wife, Amphitrite. My dear-"**

**The lady in green armor stared at me coldly, then crossed her arms and said, "Excuse me, my lord. I am needed in the battle."**

**She swam away.**

"Well, I understand what she feels like but, I am used to it?" Hera said glaring at the Graces

**I felt pretty awkward, but I guess I couldn't blame her. I'd never thought about it much, but my dad had an immortal wife. All his romances with mortals, including with my mom . . . well, Amphitrite probably didn't like that much. **

"Humph!" Hera said

**Poseidon cleared his throat. "Yes, well . . . and this is my son Triton. Er, my other son."**

"**Your son and heir," the green dude corrected. His double fish tails swished back and forth. He smiled at me, but there was no friendliness in his eyes. "Hello, Perseus Jackson. Come to help at last?"**

**He acted like I was late or lazy. If you can blush underwater, I probably did.**

"Sorry, he's the same as Amphitrite!" Poseidon apologized

"**Tell me what to do," I said.**

**Triton smiled like that was a cute suggestion-like I was a slightly amusing dog that had barked for him or something. He turned to Poseidon. "I will see to the front line, Father. Don't worry. I will not fail."**

**He nodded politely to Tyson. How come I didn't get that much respect? Then he shot off into the water.**

"Well a Cyclops isn't breaking any laws is it; usually they are for an army!" Athena said

**Poseidon sighed. He raised his staff, and it changed into his regular weapon-a huge three-pointed trident. The tip glowed with blue light, and the water around it boiled with energy.**

"**I'm sorry about that," he told me.**

**A huge sea serpent appeared from above us and spiraled down toward the roof. It was bright orange with a fanged mouth big enough to swallow a gymnasium.**

"Were you safe?" Poseidon asked, Hera read on to answer his question

**Hardly looking up, Poseidon pointed his trident at the beast and zapped it with blue energy. Ka-boom! The monster burst into a million goldfish, which all swam off in terror.**

"Cool! A monster like that into goldfishes!" Emmet laughed

"**My family is anxious," Poseidon continued as if nothing had happened. "The battle against Oceanus is going poorly."**

**He pointed to the edge of the mosaic. With the butt of his trident, he tapped the image of a merman larger than the rest, with the horns of a bull. He appeared to be riding a chariot pulled by crawfish, and instead of a sword, he wielded a live serpent.**

"I really hate wars!" Bella grumbled thinking about the newborn fight

As she was thinking, Embry accidently (not really) spilled his water bottle all over Jacob's jeans and on the couch, Aphrodite smiled, the plan had begun.

"Oh shit!" He grumbled standing up as Embry mutter sorry. Aphrodite jumped up

"Oh no! Come Jake let's get you some more jeans!" Aphrodite led him out of the room

When they came back, Quil and Embry sat on normal chair and Jacob sat on the place left on another couch next to Reyna

Bella watched this happening and felt odd for a second but let it pass.

"**Oceanus," I said, trying to remember. "The Titan of the sea?"**

**Poseidon nodded. "He was neutral in the first war of gods and Titans. But Kronos has convinced him to fight. This is . . . well, it's not a good sign. Oceanus would not commit unless he was sure he could pick the winning side."**

"**He looks stupid," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "I mean, who fights with a snake?"**

"**Daddy will tie it in knots," Tyson said firmly.**

"Thanks for the courage boys!" Poseidon smiled

**Poseidon smiled, but he looked weary. "I appreciate your faith. We have been at war almost a year now. My powers are taxed. And still he finds new forces to throw at me-sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them."**

Everyone looked worried, this was not sounding good

**I heard an explosion in the distance. About half a mile away, a mountain of coral disintegrated under the weight of two giant creatures. I could dimly make out their shapes. One was a lobster. The other was a giant humanoid like a Cyclops, but he was surrounded by a flurry of limbs. At first I thought he wearing a bunch of giant octopi. Then I realized they were his own arms-a hundred flailing, fighting arms.**

"**Briares!" I said.**

"Do they actually exist?" Emmet asked

"Emmet of course they do!" Rosalie said

"Oh, right!"

**I was happy to see him, but he looked like he was fighting for his life. He was the last of his kind-a Hundred-Handed one, cousin of the Cyclopes. We'd saved him from Kronos's prison last summer, and I knew he'd come to help Poseidon, but I hadn't heard of him since.**

"**He fights well," Poseidon said. "I wish we had a whole army like him, but he is the only one."**

**I watched as Briares bellowed in rage and picked up the lobster, which thrashed and snapped its pincers. He threw it off the coral mountain, and the lobster disappeared into the darkness. Briares swam after it, his hundred arms spinning like the blades of a motorboat.**

"They are good to use in wars, I wonder what it will be like if we had more!" Athena said

"**Percy, we may not have much time," my dad said. "Tell me of your mission. Did you see Kronos?"**

**I told him everything, though my voice choked up when I explained about Beckendorf. I looked down at the courtyards below and saw hundreds of wounded mermen lying on makeshift cots. I saw rows of coral mounds that must've been hastily made graves. I realized Beckendorf wasn't the first death. He was only one of hundreds, maybe thousands. I'd never felt so angry and helpless.**

"Percy, it was not your fault!" Thalia said

"Leave him alone Thal!" Nico warned, he was busy worrying over what Poseidon would do to him

**Poseidon stroked his beard. "Percy, Beckendorf chose a heroic death. You bear no blame for that. Kronos's army will be m disarray. Many were destroyed."**

"**But we didn't kill him, did we?"**

**As I said it, I knew it was a naive hope. We might blow up his ship and disintegrate his monsters, but a Titan lord wouldn't be so easy to kill.**

"Obviously not!" Annabeth rolled her eyes

"**No," Poseidon admitted. "But you've bought our side some time."**

"**There were demigods on that ship," I said, thinking of the kid I'd seen in the stairwell. Somehow, I'd allowed myself to concentrate on the monsters and Kronos. I'd convinced myself that destroying their ship was all right because they were evil, they were sailing to attack my city, and besides, they couldn't really be permanently killed. Monsters just vaporized and re-formed eventually. But demigods . . .**

"Percy, stop blaming yourself!" Thalia shouted

"Not my fault Thal!" Percy pouted

**Poseidon put his hand on my shoulder. "Percy, there were only a few demigod warriors aboard that ship, and they all chose to battle for Kronos. Perhaps some heeded your warning and escaped. If they did not . . . they chose their path."**

"**They were brainwashed!" I said. "Now they're dead and Kronos is still alive. That's supposed to make me feel better?" **

"Percy, I understand your grief but really, they made their own decision!" Bella said getting annoyed

Percy only nodded none of the TG had spoken to him like that

**I glared at the mosaic-little tile explosions destroying tile monsters. It seemed so easy when it was just a picture.**

**Tyson put his arm around me. If anybody else had tried that, I would've pushed him away, but Tyson was too big and stubborn. He hugged me whether I wanted it or not. "Not your fault, brother. Kronos does not explode good. Next time we will use a big stick."**

Everyone laughed; Tyson was both cute and hilarious

"**Percy," my father said. "Beckendorf's sacrifice wasn't in vain. You have scattered the invasion force. New York will be safe for a time, which frees the other Olympians to deal with the bigger threat."**

"**The bigger threat?" I thought about what the golden Titan had said in my dream: The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed.**

"What bigger threat? What challenge? I demand some answers!" Athena said going mad

"Read and you will find out!" Percy said mysteriously

**A shadow passed over my father's face. "You've had enough sorrow for one day. Ask Chiron when you return to camp."**

"**Return to camp? But you're in trouble here. I want to help!"**

"**You can't, Percy. Your job is elsewhere."**

**I couldn't believe I was hearing this. I looked at Tyson for backup.**

**My brother chewed his lip. "Daddy . . . Percy can fight with a sword. He is good."**

"Yes! But above needs you more!" Poseidon said

"**I know that," Poseidon said gently.**

"**Dad, I can help," I said. "I know I can. You're not going to hold out here much longer."**

**A fireball launched into the sky from behind the enemy lines. I thought Poseidon would deflect it or something, but it landed on the outer corner of the yard and exploded, sending mermen tumbling through the water. Poseidon winced as if he'd just been stabbed.**

"Well it did affect his domain!"

"**Return to camp," he insisted. "And tell Chiron it is time."**

"**For what?"**

"**You must hear the prophecy. The entire prophecy."**

**I didn't need to ask him which prophecy. I'd been hearing about the "Great Prophecy" for years, but nobody would ever tell me the whole thing. All I knew was that I was supposed to make a decision that would decide the fate of the world-but no pressure.**

All the Demigods but the trio and Reyna shivered

"**What if this is the decision?" I said. "Staying here to light, or leaving? What if I leave and you . . ."**

**I couldn't say die. Gods weren't supposed to die, but I'd seen it happen. Even if they didn't die, they could be reduced to nearly nothing, exiled, imprisoned in the depths of Tartarus like Kronos had been.**

"Thanks for worrying son, but I would have been fine!"

"**Percy, you must go," Poseidon insisted. "I don't know what your final decision will be, but your fight lies in the world above. If nothing else, you must warn your friends at camp. Kronos knew your plans. You have a spy. We will hold here. We have no choice."**

**Tyson gripped my hand desperately. "I will miss you, brother!"**

The Goddesses and girls cooed

**Watching us, our father seemed to age another ten years. "Tyson, you have work to do as well, my son. They need you in the armory."**

**Tyson pouted some more.**

"**I will go," he sniffled. He hugged me so hard he almost cracked my ribs. "Percy, be careful! Do not let monsters kill you dead!"**

"So they can kill you alive!" Apollo said and got smacked by Artemis

**I tried to nod confidently, but it was too much for the big guy. He sobbed and swam away toward the armory, where his cousins were fixing spears and swords.**

"**You should let him fight," I told my father. "He hates being stuck in the armory. Can't you tell?"**

**Poseidon shook his head. "It is bad enough I must send you into danger. Tyson is too young. I must protect him."**

"Like I said before!"

"**You should trust him," I said. "Not try to protect him."**

**Poseidon's eyes flared. I thought I'd gone too far, but then he looked down at the mosaic and his shoulders sagged. On the tiles, the mermaid guy in the crawfish chariot was coming closer to the palace.**

"Percy, OMG! You almost pissed off your dad!" Rachel said hitting him on the head

"**Oceanus approaches," my father said. "I must meet him in battle."**

**I'd never been scared for a god before, but I didn't see how my dad could face this Titan and win.**

"So much for faith!" Hermes said sarcastically and Artemis slapped him

"He was only worried!"

"**I will hold," Poseidon promised. "I will not give up my domain. Just tell me, Percy, do you still have the birthday gift I gave you last summer?"**

**I nodded and pulled out my camp necklace. It had a bead for every summer I'd been at Camp Half-Blood, but since last year, I'd also kept a sand dollar on the cord. **

Athena understood

**My father had given it to me for my fifteenth birthday. He'd told me I would know when to "spend it," but so far, I hadn't figured out what he meant. All I knew was that it didn't fit the vending machines in the school cafeteria.**

Everyone laughed

"**The time is coming," he promised. "With luck, I will see you for your birthday next week, and we will have a proper celebration."**

**He smiled, and for a moment, I saw the old light in his eyes.**

**Then the entire sea grew dark in front of us, like an inky storm was rolling in. Thunder crackled, which should've been impossible underwater. A huge icy presence was approaching. I sensed a wave of fear roll through the armies below us.**

"Hope you lot win!" Jacob said

And Olympians and Demigods smiled at him gratefully

"**I must assume my true godly form," Poseidon said. "Go-and good luck, my son."**

**I wanted to encourage him, to hug him or something, but knew better than to stick around. When a god assumes his true form, the power is so great that any mortal looking on him will disintegrate.**

"I almost did!" Jason muttered

Unfortunately, Zeus heard

"What? How?" he shouted

"Hera!" he answered and Zeus glared at her

"**Good-bye, Father," I managed.**

**Then I turned away. I willed the ocean currents to aid me. Water swirled around me, and I shot toward the surface at speeds that would've caused any normal human to pop like a balloon.**

**When I looked back, all I could see were flashes of green and blue as my father fought the Titan, and the sea itself was torn apart by the two armies.**

"Done!" Hera said glaring at Jason

"Why don't we all go to bed, Hermes can you show them!" Zeus said

"Sure thing Dad!" Hermes led TG and the Demigods to there rooms

**Hi what do you think!**

**If you are wondering, why there is less Bella/Jacob action then, there love will increase through the book, and if I refer to the Demigods I mean Rachel too. **

**Maleena XXXXXXXX**


	4. Chapter 4: smells and games

**A/n: disclaimer: I own nothing **

No one's P.O.V

Hermes led everyone to the bedroom hall, pausing at two corridors.

"Ok! Boys on the left and girls on the right!" he told them

All the demigods greeted goodbye and set off down the their corridors,

Esme, Rosalie, and Alice set off a little while later, as Carlisle, Emmet, and Jasper did too. Bella was about to set off too but Edward grabbed her arm. Hermes watched this encounter and shuck his head.

"Nope, rules from Zeus no boys and girls together!"

"But Bella has too stay with me, who knows who could harm her!" Edward argued

"Lee-Edward just let her go! It not like the girls would hurt her!" Jacob said

"No one asked you dog!" Edward snarled

"No, Jacob is right it's not like they would hurt her and isn't your mum and your sisters there, even they could keep an eye on her, and we have video cameras installed to watch things!" Hermes explained

"Fine!" Edward let go of Bella arm apprehensively clearly wanting to hold on.

Bella kissed him and then went down her own corridor looking back and waving.

And then the Vampire and three Werewolves set off to their own bedroom in silence.

Bella's P.o.v

I walked down the corridor, thinking back to what Edward had said,

'The _girls wouldn't do anything to me would they_?' I asked myself

'_No they wouldn't Bella you are just being silly_.' Something in my head told me

That was just Edward being his usual paranoid self. You now sometimes his over protectiveness got to me.

I entered the giant bedroom to find a huge room with six beds on each side of the room.

Nine of the bed were taken up and four were left spare, I chose the one nearest to the window and settled down.

"So you and Edward getting married huh!" said a girl with blue eyes and a faint glow around her I recognized her as Thalia

"Yeah!" I replied as all the girls sat up in bed

"Aren't you a little young?" said a blonde girl I remembered as Annabeth

"Well, I'm 18 and Edward is forever 17 so, I have to marry him before I hit 19!" I explained

"Percy and me have agreed we will not marry until we are at least 21!" Annabeth said

"You _do_ love Edward, don't you?" Rosalie asked

"Of course I do!" I answered without hesitation

"Rosalie leave her alone, can't you see how it's affecting her!" Esme scolded

"So how does it feel having a vampire fiancé!" A pretty girl with brown hair to her shoulders asked. Piper, her name was, I think

"It's ok! It actually feels quite normal, I just don't like the ice cold skin bit!" I admitted truthfully

"So what's it like being a vampire!" asked a girl I recognized as Hazel, she directed the question at the vamps in the room.

"It was hard at first but we are use to it, the speed is the best bit, and hunting for animals!" Alice answered

"Wait, you don't drink human blood!" asked a redhead girl whose name I had forgotten.

"No, only vampires with red eyes drink Human blood, our eyes are topaz because we drink animals blood!" Rosalie answered in an emotionless voice

"Yeah, but sometimes we get drawn in by strong human scent like Bella's floral one, but we would never hurt her!" Alice added

"What do we smell like!" questioned Reyna, a name and face I couldn't forget no matter how much I tried

"Thalia, you smell like gas, like ozone!" Alice said

"Blame that one on my dad!" Thalia chuckled, rolling her eyes

"Annabeth, you are like fresh paper, or a new book!" Esme said

"Well my mum is the Goddess of wisdom!" Annabeth replied cheerfully

"Reyna you don't really smell like anything but power, like you were born to lead!" Rosalie said

_I felt dislike when I looked at Reyna, why didn't I like her? She was nice enough._

"Really, I guess it's all on my mum, I happy though!" She Replied

"Hazel, you are like fresh earth and diamonds!"

"Figures, my dad owns all gold and gems under the earth!" Hazel said smiling shyly

"Piper, you are like, Roses and flavored lip gloss!"

"Well, Goddess and love and all, so I guess I'm satisfied!" Piper said smiling widely

"And Rachel I can't smell anything from you! It's sort of blocked!" Alice said and the other two nodded, _so that was her name Rachel, I knew I had it on the tip of my tongue. _

"I am the oracle of Delphi, I think it's blocked so people can't sense me!" Rachel explained

"You know Percy smells like sea salt and ocean air!"

"And the other one smells like death and decay!" Rosalie grimaced

"Yep, that's Nico, or in other words death breath!" Thalia laughed

"And your brother smells like you Thalia!" Alice told her

"Yeah, Jason!" Piper said almost dreamily

"Oh, I sense a crush!" Alice almost squealed

"And I accept you too together, as girl and boyfriend!" Thalia gave permission

There was silence for a minute

"You know, Frank smells a lot like you Reyna!" Alice almost hinted

"I can see why, his dad is the war God, but no he's all Hazel's!"

Hazel blushed

"And that final guy, he smells like oil and something burning!" Esme said

"Oh Leo, again like his parents!" Piper said

Thalia and Rachel yawned,

"Maybe you all should sleep, Alice, Rosalie and I will keep watch!" Esme assured

In addition, after five minutes later I dropped off to sleep.

Edward's P.o.v

I lay on my bed, faced away from all the others talking, I was over my mind with worry; I hoped Bella was ok, Sure, Esme, Alice and Rosalie were there and sure, there were camera's. but still I needed to be there by her side protecting her from the smallest of harms.

"Edward bro, we're playing: would you rather, please play with us," Emmet begged

"Fine!" I said trying to take my mind of Bella

This little kid Nico went first

"So Emmet, would you rather lick Edward's foot or be stuck in jail with a lion!" he asked

"Well Nico, that one's easy, vampire remember, the lion obviously!" Emmet said rolling his eyes

"My turn, Embry would you rather dance in the forest Naked or get locked in the bathroom with a tiger!" Percy asked the mutt

He thought for a while

"Definitely, the tiger in the bathroom, I would Phase and kill it!"

"M turn now, Jacob would you rather wrestle a bear without phasing or get locked in a room with a murderous Bella holding a knife!" Jason asked the dog

'_Why did he have to bring Bella in too it_?'

Jacob thought for a while,

"The bear, definitely the bear, I'd choose a bear over angry Bella any day, I'm not getting another punch in the face!" he said

The demigods yawned

"Come on, lets get too bed!" Jacob said yawning also

Soon after, everyone went to bed as the Vampire lay silently.

**What do you think? Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5: sneaks peaks at death

A/n: disclaimer: I own nothing

Aphrodite P.o.v

The Olympians and Vampires were sitting in the kitchen waiting for everyone else, making small talk. At about 8:00 am, the Demigods Werewolves, and humans staggered in, sitting down sleepily and began to munch on toast after they had said good morning. '_Finally, everyone is here," _I looked around_ 'but Athena! _I realized. _That is so weird!' _I thought to myself _'the Goddess of wisdom, Late!'_

By 9:00, we had pretty much finished eating, and went into the throne room. In addition, after 10 minutes Athena walked in, looking tried.

"Sorry, I'm late!" she said yawning

"Athena, why are you so late?" Zeus asked

"My apologies Zeus, I was busy!" Athena said

"What were you doing?" Ares asked nosily, narrowing his eyes

"I was reading!" Athena answered rolling her eyes

Ares rolled his eyes, obviously expecting Athena to stay up for reading, but I had a feeling these books, were the twilight ones.

"And Aphrodite, after we are done, I need to talk to you!" Athena said to me, I knew it; it _was_ about the Twilight books

"Can I read now?" Demeter asked

Everyone nodded

"**I get a sneak peak at my death**." She began

Poseidon gulped

**If you want to be popular at Camp Half-Blood, don't come back from a mission with bad news.**

"But, isn't the ship destroyed, that's good news isn't it!" Hera said cheerfully obviously forgetting about Beckendorf

"But Lady Hera, Beckendorf…" Alice said

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Hera said, flushing red as she apologized about her grandson

**Word of my arrival spread as soon as I walked out of the ocean. Our beach is on the North Shore of Long Island, and it's enchanted so most people can't even see it. People don't just appear on the beach unless they're demigods or gods or really, really lost pizza delivery guys. (It's happened-but that's another story.)**

"Do we get to hear it?" Nico asked eagerly

"Nope!" Percy said

"Aww!" Nico pouted

**Anyway, that afternoon the lookout on duty was Connor Stoll from the Hermes cabin. When he spotted me, he got so excited he fell out of his tree. Then he blew the conch horn to signal the camp and ran to greet me.**

Hermes smiled as the Greek demigods shivered about the pranks they had played on them

**Connor had a crooked smile that matched his crooked sense of humor. He's a pretty nice guy, but you should always keep one hand on your wallet when he's around, and do not, under any circumstances, give him access to shaving cream unless you want to find your sleeping bag full of it.**

"He got me with the shaving cream 7 times!" Nico said

"Its nobodies fault you are dumb!" Thalia smirked

Nico pouted

**He's got curly brown hair and is a little shorter than his brother, Travis, which is the only way I can tell them apart. They are both so unlike my old enemy Luke, it's hard to believe they're all sons of Hermes.**

"Well they are true sons of Hermes!" Hermes said proudly

"**Percy!" he yelled. "What happened? Where's Beckendorf?"**

**Then he saw my expression, and his smile melted. "Oh, no. Poor Silena. Holy Zeus, when she finds out . . ."**

"Oh, poor Silena!" I said, they would have made a good couple

**Together we climbed the sand dunes. A few hundred yards away, people were already streaming toward us, smiling and excited. Percy's back, they were probably thinking. He's saved the day! Maybe he brought souvenirs!**

Everyone laughed

**I stopped at the dining pavilion and waited for them. No sense rushing down there to tell them what a loser I was.**

"Percy!" Thalia sighed

**I gazed across the valley and tried to remember how Camp Half-Blood looked the first time I ever saw it. That seemed like a bajillion years ago.**

"Is bajillion a word?" Nico asked

No answer

**From the dining pavilion, you could see pretty much everything. Hills ringed the valley. On the tallest, Half-Blood Hill, Thalia's pine tree stood with the Golden Fleece hanging from its branches, magically protecting the camp from its enemies. The guard dragon Peleus was so big now I could see him from here curled around the tree trunk, lending up smoke signals as he snored.**

"Cool! A dragon!" Leo said

**To my right spread the woods. To my left, the canoe lake glittered and the climbing wall glowed from the lava pouring down its side. Twelve cabins-one for each Olympian god-made a horseshoe pattern around the commons area. Farther south were the strawberry fields, the armory, and the four-story Big House with its sky blue paint job and its bronze eagle weathervane.**

"Why are there only 12 cabins?" Piper asked

"You'll find out at the end of the book!" Annabeth answered

**In some ways, the camp hadn't changed. However, you couldn't see the war by looking at the buildings or the fields. You could see it in the faces of the demigods and satyrs and naiads coming up the hill.**

"Nothing is what it seems!" Bella said

**There weren't as many at camp as four summers ago. Some had left and never come back. Some had died fighting. Others-we tried not to talk about them-had gone over to the enemy.**

"Because they were ignored!" Alice said understanding

The Olympians looked down sadly

**The ones who were still here were battle-hardened and weary. There was little laughter at camp these days. Even the Hermes cabin didn't play so many pranks. It's hard to enjoy practical jokes when your whole life feels like one.**

"I know what you mean!" said all the Demigods

**Chiron galloped into the pavilion first, which was easy for him since he's a white stallion from the waist down. His beard had grown wilder over the summer. He wore a green T-shirt that said MY OTHER CAR IS A CENTAUR and a bow slung over his back.**

"**Percy!" he said. "Thank the gods. But where . . ."**

"Your welcome!" Apollo and Hermes said

Artemis rolled her eyes

**Annabeth ran in right behind him and I'll admit my heart did a little relay race in my chest when I saw her. **

"Eeeek! That is so cute! I am so happy you two are together!" I praised

Percy and Annabeth blushed, Athena looked annoyed

**It's not that she tried to look good. We'd been doing so many combat missions lately, she hardly brushed her curly blond hair anymore, and she didn't care what clothes she was wearing-usually the same old orange camp T-shirt and jeans, and once in a while her bronze armor. **

"I'm happy you like me the way I am seaweed brain!"

**Her eyes were stormy gray. Most of the time we couldn't get through a conversation without trying to strangle each other. **

"That's their way of flirting!" Nico and Thalia said together and blushed

"Omg! You two would make such a great couple!" I shrieked

Both of their mouths dropped open and Artemis looked murderous

Demeter read again to avoid any death

**Still, just seeing her made me feel fuzzy in the head. Last summer, before Luke had turned into Kronos and everything went sour, there had been a few times when I thought maybe . . . well, that we might get past the strangle-each-other phase.**

"And into the 'I love you phase'!" Hazel said, since Nico was still a little embarrassed to speak

Everyone shuck their head, like brother, like sister

"**What happened?" She grabbed my arm. "Is Luke-"**

"**The ship blew up," I said. "He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where-"**

**Silena Beauregard pushed through the crowd. Her hair wasn't combed and she wasn't even wearing makeup, which wasn't like her.**

"Why would she wear make up at a time like this!" Annabeth scolded

"**Where's Charlie?" she demanded, looking around like he might be hiding.**

**I glanced at Chiron helplessly.**

**The old centaur cleared his throat. "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House-"**

"**No," she muttered. "No. No."**

**She started to cry, and the rest of us stood around, too stunned to speak. We'd already lost so many people over the summer, but this was the worst. With Beckendorf gone, it felt like someone had stolen the anchor for the entire camp.**

Everyone looked upset, _'was the whole book as depressing as this!' _I thought

**Finally, Clarisse from the Ares cabin came forward. She put her arm around Silena. They had one of the strangest friendships ever-a daughter of the war god and a daughter of the love goddess-but ever since Silena had given Clarisse advice last summer about her first boyfriend, Clarisse had decided she was Silena's personal bodyguard.**

"No, my kids will not befriend model wannabes!" Ares said

I was fuming, how dare he? I am not a model wannabes and neither are my kids! What is his problem; anyone can be anybody's friend!

I throw a stiletto at his head knocking him out cold

Leo whistled, "Wow! Beauty queen your mother is deadly!"

"I know she is, and don't call me beauty queen!" Piper said

I beamed at my daughter, she was so different from the others, but I still love her,

**Clarisse was dressed in her bloodred combat armor, her brown hair tucked into a bandana. She was as big and beefy as a rugby player, with a permanent scowl on her face, but she spoke gently to Silena.**

"**Come on, girl," she said. "Let's get to the Big House. I'll make you some hot chocolate."**

"Can I have some hot chocolate?" Nico asked forgetting about before

"Yes! When we eat lunch!"

**Everyone turned and wandered off in twos and threes, heading back to the cabins. Nobody was excited to see me now. Nobody wanted to hear about the blown-up ship.**

**Only Annabeth and Chiron stayed behind.**

**Annabeth wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'm glad you're not dead, Seaweed Brain."**

"Coz I'd die if you were!" Annabeth admitted

"**Thanks," I said. "Me too."**

**Chiron put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you did everything you could, Percy. Will you tell us what happened?"**

**I didn't want to go through it again, but I told them the story, including my dream about the Titans. I left out the detail about Nico. Nico had made me promise not to tell anybody about his plan until I made up my mind and the plan was so scary I didn't mind keeping it a secret.**

"Scary!" Poseidon whimpered

"Don't worry dad! I'm ok!"

Thalia and Annabeth were glaring at Nico, while everyone else looked confused

**Chiron gazed down at the valley. "We must call a war council immediately, to discuss this spy, and other matters."**

"I wonder who it is." Alice asked looking at the Demigods who refused too look back at her

"**Poseidon mentioned another threat," I said. "Something even bigger than the Princess Andromeda. I thought it might be that challenge the Titan had mentioned in my dream."**

"I have a feeling It's something we wouldn't like!" Athena grimaced

**Chiron and Annabeth exchanged looks, like they knew something I didn't. I hated when they did that.**

"**We will discuss that also," Chiron promised.**

"**One more thing." I took a deep breath. "When I talked to my father, he said to tell you it's time. I need to know the full prophecy."**

The TG gang waited in anticipation

**Chiron's shoulders sagged, but he didn't look surprised. "I've dreaded this day. Very well. Annabeth, we will show Percy the truth-all of it. Let's go to the attic."**

**I'd been to the Big House attic three times before, which was three times more than I wanted to.**

**A ladder ledup from the top of the staircase. I wondered how Chiron was going to get up there, being half horse and all, but he didn't try.**

The Gods and Demigods laughed, Chiron would look pretty stupid

"**You know where it is," he told Annabeth. "Bring it down, please."**

**Annabeth nodded. "Come on, Percy."**

**The sun was setting outside, so the attic was even darker and creepier than usual. Old hero trophies were slacked everywhere-dented shields, pickled heads in jars from various monsters, a pair of fuzzy dice on a bronze plaque that read: STOLEN FROM CHRYSAOR'S HONDA CIVIC, BY GUS, SON OF HERMES, 1988.**

"Woo! Go children of Hermes!" Hermes cheered

**I picked up a curved bronze sword so badly bent it looked like the letter M. I could still see green stains on the metal from the magical poison that used to cover it. The tag was dated last summer. It read: Scimitar of Kampê, destroyed in the Battle of the Labyrinth.**

"Cool! You fought Kampe!" Emmet said

"**You remember Briares throwing those boulders?" I asked.**

**Annabeth gave me a grudging smile. "And Grover causing a Panic?"**

"WHAT! You found pan!" Hermes said shocked and happy at the same time

"I'm sorry about this Hermes but, he has faded and now Grover is lord of the wild!" Annabeth said apologetically

"Who's Grover?" Jacob asked

"He's my best friend the satyr!" Percy answered

"A Satyr! Do they even…I mean of course they exist!" Jacob stumbled

**We locked eyes. I thought of a different time last summer, under Mount St. Helens, when Annabeth thought I was going to die and she kissed me.**

All the girls cooed and all the boys whistled as Percy and Annabeth blushed

**She cleared her throat and looked away. "Prophecy."**

"**Right." I put down the scimitar. "Prophecy."**

**We walked over to the window. On a three-legged stool sat the Oracle-a shriveled female mummy m a tie-dyed dress. Tufts of black hair clung to her skull. Glassy eyes stared out of her leathery face. Just looking at her made my skin crawl.**

**If you wanted to leave camp during the summer, it used to be you had to come up here to get a quest. This summer, that rule had been tossed. Campers left all the time on combat missions. We had no choice if we wanted to stop Kronos.**

"I bet you guys are so glad that I'm the oracle!" Rachel said

Everyone but the TG gang nodded, Apollo the most and Hades the least, _Hmm…there was something weird going on!' _

**Still, I remembered too well the strange green mist-the spirit of the Oracle-that lived inside the mummy. She looked lifeless now, but whenever she spoke a prophecy, she moved. Sometimes fog gushed out of her mouth and created strange shapes. Once, she'd even left the attic and taken a little zombie stroll into the woods to deliver a message. I wasn't sure what she'd do for the "Great Prophecy." I half expected her to start tap dancing or something.**

"Well, at least we have Rachel now Perce, she could tap dance for you!" Nico said cheerfully

"I am not tap dancing!" Rachel said stubbornly

Everyone laughed

**But she just sat there like she was dead-which she was.**

"**I never understood this," I whispered.**

"**What?" Annabeth asked.**

"**Why it's a mummy."**

"**Percy, she didn't used to be a mummy. For thousands of years the spirit of the Oracle lived inside a beautiful maiden. The spirit would be passed on from generation to generation. Chiron told me she was like that fifty years ago." Annabeth pointed at the mummy. "But she was the last."**

Hermes grimaced, obviously remembering Luke's mother

"I never understood why she wouldn't change, I mean she has now!" Apollo said beaming at Rachel

Hades sunk down in his throne, looking around fearfully

'_I really have to find out is happening!'_

"**What happened?"**

**Annabeth started to say something, then apparently changed her mind. "Let's just do our job and get out of here."**

"What were you going to say?" Nico asked

Annabeth ignored him

**I looked nervously at the Oracle's withered face. "So what now?"**

**Annabeth approached the mummy and held out her palms. "O Oracle, the time is at hand. I ask for the Great Prophecy."**

Everyone waited, ready

**I braced myself, but the mummy didn't move. Instead, Annabeth approached and unclasped one of its necklaces. I'd never paid too much attention to its jewelry before. I figured it was just hippie love beads and stuff. But when Annabeth turned toward me, she was holding a leather pouch-like a Native American medicine pouch on a cord braided with feathers. She opened the bag and took out a roll of parchment no bigger than her pinky.**

"No freaking way, it's been around her neck all this time, I never knew, I almost regret Rachel becoming Oracle," Nico said bewildered

Rachel huffed

"**No way," I said. "You mean all these years, I've been asking about this stupid prophecy, and it's been right there around her neck?"**

"**The time wasn't right," Annabeth said. "Believe me, Percy, I read this when I was ten years old, and I still have nightmares about it."**

"What could be so bad you have nightmares about it?" Bella shivered and Edward hugged as I stopped myself growling

"**Great," I said. "Can I read it now?"**

"**Downstairs at the war council," Annabeth said. "Not in front of . . . you know."**

**I looked at the glassy eyes of the Oracle, and I decided not to argue. We headed downstairs to join the others. I didn't know it then, but it would be the last time I ever visited the attic.**

"Well at least I'm not like the other oracle all scary, old and mummy like!" Rachel said

"I don't know, you are still pretty scary!" Leo teased and got beaten up with a pillow

As everyone else chuckled

**The senior counselors had gathered around the Ping-Pong table. Don't ask me why, but the rec room had become the camp's informal headquarters for war councils. When Annabeth, Chiron, and I came in, though, it looked more like a shouting match.**

"Well, I've been through many with Drew and Piper and since they both have charm speak, it gets pretty crazy, and I should know beauty queen is mad when she angry!" Leo laughed forgetting Piper was there

"Leo!" Piper asked sweetly

"Yeah!" he answered

"Slap your self!" she charm spoke and he obeyed

SMACK !

"OW! I can't believe I just hit my self, stupid charm speak!" he said rubbing his cheek

**Clarisse was still in full battle gear. Her electric spear was strapped to her back. (Actually, her second electric spear, since I'd broken the first one. She called the spear "Maimer." Behind her back, everybody else called it "Lamer.") She had her boar-shaped helmet under one arm and a knife at her belt.**

Ares sulked

**She was in the midst of yelling at Michael Yew, the new head counselor for Apollo, which looked kind of funny since Clarisse was a foot taller. Michael had taken over the Apollo cabin after Lee Fletcher died in battle last summer. Michael stood four feet six, with another two feet of attitude. He reminded me of a ferret, with a pointy nose and scrunched-up features-either because he scowled so much or because he spent too much time looking down the shaft of an arrow.**

"Humph!" Apollo said glaring at Percy

"**It's our loot!" he yelled, standing on his tiptoes so he could get in Clarisse's face. "If you don't like it, you can kiss my quiver!"**

"What are they fighting about anyway!" Emmet asked

**Around the table, people were trying not to laugh-the Stoll brothers, Pollux from the Dionysus cabin, Katie Gardner from Demeter. Even Jake Mason, the hastily appointed new counselor from Hephaestus, managed a faint smile. Only Silena Beauregard didn't pay any attention. She sat beside Clarisse and stared vacantly at the Ping-Pong net. Her eyes were red and puffy. A cup of hot chocolate sat untouched in front of her. It seemed unfair that she had to be here. I couldn't believe Clarisse and Michael standing over her, arguing about something as stupid as loot, when she'd just lost Beckendorf.**

"**STOP IT!" I yelled. "What are you guys doing?"**

"Yeah listen to my son!" Poseidon said to Apollo and Ares

"Yeah tell your kids to behave, poor Silena!" I said

**Clarisse glowered at me. "Tell Michael not to be a selfish jerk."**

"**Oh, that's perfect, coming from you," Michael said.**

"**The only reason I'm here is to support Silena!" Clarisse shouted. "Otherwise I'd be back in my cabin."**

"What does she mean, isn't she fighting!" Ares asked

"**What are you talking about?" I demanded.**

**Pollux cleared his throat. "Clarisse has refused to speak to any of us, until her, um, issue is resolved. She hasn't spoken for three days."**

"**It's been wonderful," Travis Stoll said wistfully.**

"Honestly, Travis can make everything funny!" Nico said as everyone laughed

"**What issue?" I asked.**

**Clarisse turned to Chiron. "You're in charge, right? Does my cabin get what we want or not?"**

**Chiron shuffled his hooves. "My dear, as I've already explained, Michael is correct. Apollo's cabin has the best claim. Besides, we have more important matters-"**

"**Sure," Clarisse snapped. "Always more important matters than what Ares needs. We're just supposed to show up and light when you need us, and not complain!"**

"Honestly the Ares cabin is too stubborn for their own good!" Annabeth said

Ares glared at her and she ignored him

"**That would be nice," Connor Stoll muttered.**

"Do those twins know when to keep their mouths shut?" Esme asked

The Demigods thought,

"No!" they answered

**Clarisse gripped her knife. "Maybe I should ask Mr. D-"**

"**As you know," Chiron interrupted, his tone slightly angry now, "our director, Dionysus, is busy with the war. He can't be bothered with this."**

"Why is D busy?" Apollo asked looking at Dionysus who was asleep on his throne

"The minor Gods are siding with Kronos!" Annabeth answered and the whole room darkened

"**I see," Clarisse said. "And the senior counselors? Are any of you going to side with me?"**

**Nobody was smiling now. None of them met Clarisse's eyes.**

"**Fine." Clarisse turned to Silena. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get into this when you've just lost . . . Anyway, I apologize. To you. Nobody else."**

"At least she feels some remorse!" I said coming to a conclusion

**Silena didn't seem to register her words.**

**Clarisse threw her knife on the Ping-Pong table. "All of you can fight this war without Ares. Until I get satisfaction, no one in my cabin is lifting a finger to help. Have fun dying."**

"Why is she so stubborn? Seriously!" Nico said like he actually cared

**The counselors were all too stunned to say anything as Clarisse stormed out of the room.**

**Finally, Michael Yew said, "Good riddance."**

"**Are you kidding?" Katie Gardner protested. "This is a disaster!"**

"**She can't be serious," Travis said. "Can she?"**

**Chiron sighed. "Her pride has been wounded. She'll calm down eventually." But he didn't sound convinced.**

"Honestly, this isn't fair, I wouldn't just back out just because of pride!" Hazel

"What would you know girly, the best deserves the best, and I am the best!" Ares said glaring at Hazel

"No Lord Ares we are all equal!" she said fiercely

Ares backed off and Nico and Hades looked proud and smug

**I wanted to ask what the heck Clarisse was so mad about, but I looked at Annabeth and she mouthed the words I'll tell you later.**

"**Now," Chiron continued, "if you please, counselors. Percy has brought something I think you should hear. Percy-the Great Prophecy."**

Poseidon looked worried momentarily forgetting that Percy was in the room

**Annabeth handed me the parchment. It felt dry and old, and my fingers fumbled with the string. I uncurled the paper, trying not to rip it, and began to read:**

"**A half-blood of the eldest dogs . . ."**

TG and the Demigods burst out laughing

The Gods except Hestia and Poseidon looked miffed

"Nice too know you refer us to Dogs Nephew!" Zeus said

"Uh…sorry…dyslexia!" Percy stuttered turning red

"**Er, Percy?" Annabeth interrupted. "That's gods. Not dogs."**

"**Oh, right," I said. Being dyslexic is one mark of a demigod, but sometimes I really hate it. The more nervous I am, the worse my reading gets. "A half~blood of the eldest gods . . . shall reach sixteen against all odds . . ."**

"Nothing wrong with that!" Emmet said

"Emmet, do you really think it would be that short!" Rosalie said

"Uh…no?" he answered like a question

**I hesitated, staring at the next lines. A cold feeling started m my fingers as if the paper was freezing.**

**"And see the world in endless sleep,**

**The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap."**

There was silence, which Jacob broke

"How are you alive Man?" He asked

"I wasn't about me; it was about the other Hero of Olympus!" Percy answered

Poseidon let out a sigh of relief

'_I wonder who the other Hero of Olympus is.'_ I thought

**Suddenly Riptide seemed heavier in my pocket. A cursed blade? Chiron once told me Riptide had brought many people sorrow. Was it possible my own sword could get me killed? And how could the world fall into endless sleep, unless that meant death?**

"I really hate prophecies, stupid double meanings!" Jason said and Reyna agreed

"**Percy," Chiron urged. "Read the rest."**

**My mouth felt like it was full of sand, but I spoke the last two lines.**

**"A single choice shall. . . shall end his days.**

**Olympus to per-pursue-"**

"**Preserve," Annabeth said gently. "It means to save."**

"So he's going to die any way!" Carlisle said sadly

The Olympians were very tense, it could be their child

"**I know what it means," I grumbled. "Olympus to preserve or raze."**

**The room was silent. Finally, Connor Stoll said, "Raise is good, isn't it?"**

"**Not raise," Silena said. Her voice was hollow, but I was startled to hear her speak at all. "R-a-z-e means destroy."**

"**Obliterate," Annabeth said. "Annihilate. Turn to rubble."**

"Good to know!" Hermes said weakly then I had a feeling it was Luke

"**Got it." My heart felt like lead. "Thanks."**

**Everybody was looking at me-with concern, or pity, or maybe a little fear.**

"Why fear, what's there to be scared of!" Alice said

"Oh you haven't seen Percy fight!" Frank said

All the Demigods nodded

"I guess I haven't!" Alice prevailed

**Chiron closed his eyes as if he were saying a prayer. In horse form, his head almost brushed the lights in the rec room. "You see now, Percy, why we thought it best not to tell you the whole prophecy. You've had enough on your shoulders-"**

"**Without realizing I was going to die in the end anyway?" I said. "Yeah, I get it."**

"You are not going to die!" Poseidon said stubbornly

**Chiron gazed at me sadly. The guy was three thousand years old. He'd seen hundreds of heroes die. He might not like it, but he was used to it. He probably knew better than to try to reassure me.**

"**Percy," Annabeth said. "You know prophecies always have double meanings. It might not literally mean you die."**

"**Sure," I said. "A single choice shall end his days. That has tons of meanings, right?"**

"**Maybe we can stop it," Jake Mason offered. "The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. Maybe we could find this cursed blade and destroy it. Sounds like Kronos's scythe, right?"**

"You can't change a prophecy!" Apollo said

**I hadn't thought about that, but it didn't matter if the cursed blade was Riptide or Kronos's scythe. Either way, I doubted we could stop the prophecy. A blade was supposed to reap my soul. As a general rule, I preferred not to have my soul reaped.**

"Who is the right mind would want their soul reaped!" Nico said like a child

"Nobody Nicky lets read!" Percy ruffled his hair

"**Perhaps we should let Percy think about these lines," Chiron said. "He needs time-"**

"**No." I folded up the prophecy and shoved it into my pocket. I felt defiant and angry, though I wasn't sure who I was angry with. "I don't need time. If I die, I die. I can't worry about that, right?"**

**Annabeth's hands were shaking a little. She wouldn't meet my eyes.**

"Aww! She doesn't want you too die!" I said

"Why would anyone want that too happen?" Apollo said taking the romantic meaning out of my words

"**Let's move on," I said. "We've got other problems. We've got a spy."**

**Michael Yew scowled. "A spy?"**

**I told them what had happened on the Princess Andromeda-how Kronos had known we were coming, how he'd shown me the silver scythe pendant he'd used to communicate with someone at camp.**

**Silena started to cry again and Annabeth put an arm around her shoulders.**

"Poor Silena all its doing is reminding her of Charlie!" I said

"**Well," Connor Stoll said uncomfortably, "we've suspected there might a spy for years, right? Somebody kept passing information to Luke-like the location of the Golden Fleece a couple of years ago. It must be somebody who knew him well."**

**Maybe subconsciously, he glanced at Annabeth. She'd known Luke better than anyone, of course, but Connor looked away quickly. "Um, I mean, it could be anybody."**

"Idiot, like I would!"

"**Yes." Katie Gardner frowned at the Stoll brothers. She'd disliked them ever since they'd decorated the grass roof of the Demeter cabin with chocolate Easter bunnies. "Like one of Luke's siblings."**

**Travis and Connor both started arguing with her.**

"They are so childish!" Reyna said,

"Well, I'm childish!" Jacob said grinning; he was sitting by her again

"Well I like you childish, it's just the Romans are much more focused!" she explained smiling also, as Bella tuned in to their conversation,

Their grins widened as Bella watched them suspiciously

Wow I was impressed they were working the plan better that I expected. When Bella had looked away, Jacob and Reyna looked at me and I winked at them, Satisfied with their role-play.

"**Stop!" Silena banged the table so hard her hot chocolate spilled. "Charlie's dead and . . . and you're all arguing like little kids!" She put her head down and began to sob.**

**Hot chocolate trickled off the Ping-Pong table. Everybody looked ashamed.**

"They have the right to be!"

"**She's right," Pollux said at last. "Accusing each other doesn't help. We need to keep our eyes open for a silver necklace with a scythe charm. If Kronos had one, the spy probably does too."**

**Michael Yew grunted. "We need to find this spy before we plan our next operation. Blowing up the Princess Andromeda won't stop Kronos forever."**

"Yeah and we still have the bigger threat as well!" Athena reminded

"**No indeed," Chiron said. "In fact his next assault is already on the way."**

**I scowled. "You mean the 'bigger threat' Poseidon mentioned?"**

**He and Annabeth looked at each other like, it's time. Did I mention I hate it when they do that?**

"Yep!" Nico said

"**Percy," Chiron said, "we didn't want to tell you until you returned to camp. You needed a break with your . . . mortal friends."**

**Annabeth blushed. It dawned on me that she knew I'd been hanging out with Rachel, and I felt guilty. Then I felt angry that I felt guilty. I was allowed to have friends outside camp, right? It wasn't like . . .**

"It wasn't like what Percy?" I asked

"It wasn't like Annabeth was Jealous!" Percy answered without blushing

"**Tell me what's happened," I said.**

**Chiron picked up a bronze goblet from the snack table. He tossed water onto the hot plate where we usually melted nacho cheese. Steam billowed up, making a rainbow in the fluorescent lights. Chiron fished a golden drachma out of his pouch, tossed it through the mist, and muttered, "O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat."**

"Finally, we can find out!" Athena sighed

**The mist shimmered. I saw the familiar image of a smoldering volcano-Mount St. Helens. As I watched, the side of the mountain exploded. Fire, ash, and lava rolled out. A newscaster's voice was saying "-even larger than last year's eruption, and geologists warn that the mountain may not be done."**

"Wow! I wonder how much damage was done!" Bella said shocked

**I knew all about last year's eruption. I'd caused it. But this explosion was much worse. The mountain tore itself apart, collapsing inward, and an enormous form rose out of the smoke and lava like it was emerging from a manhole. I hoped the Mist would keep the humans from seeing it clearly, because what I saw would've caused panic and riots across the entire United States.**

The Gods gasped

**The giant was bigger than anything I'd ever encountered. Even my demigod eyes couldn't make out its exact form through the ash and fire, but it was vaguely humanoid and so huge it could've used the Chrysler Building as a baseball bat. The mountain shook with a horrible rumbling, as if the monster were laughing.**

"Please don't be what I think it is!" Athena said sounding almost scared

"**It's him," I said. "Typhon."**

"Shit!" Zeus swore, he was the worst monster of all

**I was seriously hoping Chiron would say something good, like No, that's our huge friend Leroy! He's going to help us! But no such luck. **

"Percy! This isn't the moment to be funny!" Annabeth said

**He simply nodded. "The most horrible monster of all, the biggest single threat the gods ever faced. He has been freed from under the mountain at last. But this scene is from two days ago. Here is what is happening today."**

**Chiron waved his hand and the image changed. I saw a bank of storm clouds rolling across the Midwest plains. Lightning flickered. Lines of tornadoes destroyed everything in their path ripping up houses and trailers, tossing cars around like Matchbox toys.**

"How'd you defeat that?" Emmet asked the Gods

"We don't know? This hasn't happened yet!" Athena replied

"Oh!"

"**Monumental floods," an announcer was saying. "Five states declared disaster areas as the freak storm system sweeps east, continuing its path of destruction." The cameras zoomed in on a column of storm bearing down on some Midwest City. I couldn't tell which one. Inside the storm, I could see the giant-just small glimpses of his true form: a smoky arm, a dark clawed hand the size of a city block. His angry roar rolled across the plains like a nuclear blast. Other smaller forms darted through the clouds, circling the monster. I saw flashes of light, and I realized the giant was trying to swat them. I squinted and thought I saw a golden chariot flying into the blackness. Then some kind of huge bird-a monstrous owl-dived in to attack the giant.**

Athena and Apollo smiled victoriously

"**Are those . . . the gods?" I said.**

"**Yes, Percy," Chiron said. "They have been fighting him for days now, trying to slow him down. But Typhon is marching forward-toward New York. Toward Olympus."**

**I let that sink in. "How long until he gets here?"**

"So you don't believe the Gods can defeat him do you boy!" Ares snarled

"I'm a pessimistic, I was afraid!" Percy said truthfully

"Wimp!" Ares muttered and got covered in ice water

"**Unless the gods can stop him? Perhaps five days. Most of the Olympians are there . . . except your father, who has a war of his own to fight."**

"**But then who's guarding Olympus?"**

**Connor Stoll shook his head. "If Typhon gets to New York, it won't matter who's guarding Olympus."**

"Lets hope he never gets there then!" Leo said

**I thought about Kronos's words on the ship: I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus.**

**Was this what he was talking about: an attack by Typhon? It was sure terrifying enough. But Kronos was always fooling us, misdirecting our attention. This seemed too obvious for him. And in my dream, the golden Titan had talked about several more challenges to come, as if Typhon were only the first.**

Bella turned to the Demigods, and asked

"How the hell did you live through this?"

"We had strategies, trust in each other and we out all our problems aside!" Thalia answered

Bella nodded listening in to her thought I understood that this reminded her of the new born battle

"**It's a trick," I said. "We have to warn the gods. Something else is going to happen."**

**Chiron looked at me gravely. "Something worse than Typhon? I hope not."**

"**We have to defend Olympus," I insisted. "Kronos has another attack planned."**

"**He did," Travis Stoll reminded me. "But you sunk his ship."**

"All they are hoping is that this isn't so bad Percy!" Thalia said

**Everyone was looking at me. They wanted some good news. They wanted to believe that at least I'd given them a little bit of hope.**

**I glanced at Annabeth. I could tell we were thinking the same thing: What if the Princess Andromeda was a ploy? What if Kronos let us blow up that ship so we'd lower our guard?**

"And that is one of the reason they work together so well!" Nico teased

**But I wasn't going to say that in front of Silena. Her boyfriend had sacrificed himself for that mission.**

"**Maybe you're right," I said, though I didn't believe it.**

**I tried to imagine how things could get much worse. The gods were m the Midwest fighting a huge monster that had almost defeated them once before. Poseidon was under siege and losing a war against the sea Titan Oceanus. **

"It's nice to know you care son!" Poseidon beamed

**Kronos was still out there somewhere. Olympus was virtually undefended. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood were on our own with a spy in our midst.**

**Oh, and according to the ancient prophecy, I was going to die when I turned sixteen-which happened to be in five days, the exact same time Typhon was supposed to hit New York. Almost forgot that.**

"Have you ever tried looking on the bright side?" Alice asked Percy

"How can I if I'm a trouble magnet!" Percy said and Bella nodded and smiled

"**Well," Chiron said, "I think that's enough for one night."**

**He waved his hand and the steam dissipated. The stormy battle of Typhon and the gods disappeared.**

"**That's an understatement," I muttered.**

**And the war council adjourned.**

"Finished!" Demeter said

"Come on lets get lunch!" said Hera

"Aphrodite, Demigods and Werewolves stay, I have too talk too you!" Athena announced

The Demigods, Werewolves, and I stayed seated, as everyone left

Athena's P.o.v

I waited until everyone had left and spoke to Aphrodite.

"Aphrodite, it's about the books!" I said showing no emotion

"And what did you think?" she asked uneasily

"I loved them until the end of Eclipse!" I admitted

"Eeeeeek! I knew it!" she said happily

"I really hated the way she chose Edward, and stupid way Jacob imprints on the baby because of heart break, so I've decided to help!"

"Wait what! I imprint on a baby!" Jacob said completely shocked having heard all the conversation

"Yes, on Bella's baby, after she is changed!" I continued if he knew some of it them why not all.

"No! Bella will not change! Never!" Jacob roared shaking with anger

"I know, that is why this plan has too work," I said

"So I was thinking, let's make her jealous, Jacob, Reyna you too will sit together and act as though you are going out, Demigods girls you will try to slip it in at bedtimes, Reyna you try to talk about him in front of Bella and hopefully, the first stage of our plan is complete!" I ordered, my plans never failed

And everyone nodded

"Oh and one more thing, if Bella asks say you and Reyna are dating!" Aphrodite reminded

Finally, we all went to lunch.

**Hi there, sorry for the late update, hope you enjoyed it. i'm really stressed at the moment so please mind my boring chapter **

**Review and Recommend **

**Maleena xxxxxxxxxx**


	6. Chapter 6: Burning shourds

A/n: disclaimer: I own nothing

Bella's p.o.v

Something weird is going on, why the hell are Athena and Aphrodite holding the Demigods and Werewolves back. It's not like Jake to hide something from me; I have to question him when he gets back.

"What are you think about Bella?" Edward asked knocking me out of my thoughts

"Oh, just the wedding!" I lied, I was sure Edward would be mad if he knew I was thinking about Jake.

"Oh! Don't you worry Bella, we have it all sorted out, it is gonna be the best ever!" Alice assured me cheerfully

I smiled back at her gracefully, as Jake and the guys came in looking miserable, Jacob barely acknowledged me and loaded his plate with food.

"So Jake, you plan on telling me why they kept you back again," I asked him

"I would, if it was any of your business!" He snapped

"Jake, it's my business because I care, why you are looking so miserable!" I snapped back, this wasn't Jake, why was he acting so differently

Jacob made no sign that he heard me and turned to Quil and Embry

"Quil, Embry let's go, there are spare seats by Reyna, I can't sit here any longer!"

Jacob told the other Werewolves, and then they all grabbed their plates and moved by the Demigods and Olympians

"Don't worry about it Bella, you're better off without him anyway!" Edward said smirking

What is he smirking about? I've just lost my best friend and he's smirking, well he did hate him, but still.

Jacob's p.o.v

OMG! I can't believe I just did that, I can't stand Bella looking hurt, but I suppose it's for the best.

"So, what happened," Aphrodite asked me as I approached

"Bella asked me, I snapped at her and told her I was going to sit by Reyna!" I told her in short

"Nice going, show her you're not interested and slowly slip Reyna's name in!" Athena approved as we sat down and began to eat.

"That's it, I am begging for you too tell me, what the hell are you lot up too, I can't stand not knowing!" Apollo said in a pleading voice, he had come over from his table, when he saw us coming.

We all looked to Athena, then she and Aphrodite came too a silent agreement.

"I think we should tell the Olympians!" Athena announced

We all stayed seated at Athena and Aphrodite with Apollo went over to explain.

Athena's p.o.v

After I had finished explaining, I waited for their reactions

"Are you sure, it's a good idea to meddle Athena!" Hera asked

"I think it's a great idea, I believe she's better off with the werewolf!" Poseidon chinned in,

'_Huh! That was unexpected!_' I thought to myself

"So, we must keep this from the Cullens and Bella, or the plan is over, and anyway I asked Hermes to slip Medea's 'never spill' potion it too your nectar, so you can't spill the secret even if you wanted too!" Aphrodite informed us, smirking to herself.

We all blinked at her. That was clever, well for Aphrodite. Some looked annoyed, and others shocked

"Err…sorry guys, Aphrodite can be really convincing when she want to!" Hermes said rubbing the back of his neck

No one's p.o.v

Later in the Throne room, they all began too read again.

"**We burn a metal shroud**!"Athena began

**I dreamed Rachel Elizabeth Dare **

"Aww! So cute! He dreamed of you," Aphrodite shrieked, smiling at Rachel

Annabeth glared daggers at Percy and Rachel

**Was throwing darts at my picture.**

Everyone burst out laughing

"Well that takes the romance out of it!" Aphrodite huffed

**She was standing in her room . . . Okay, back up. I have to explain that Rachel doesn't have a room. **

"You said she was standing in her room, and then you said she didn't have a room!" Emmet asked confused

"Lady Athena read on, I'm sure it will explain!" Percy said

**She has the top floor of her family's mansion, which is a renovated brownstone in Brooklyn. Her "room" is a huge loft with industrial lighting and floor-to-ceiling windows. It's about twice as big as my mom's apartment.**

"Wow! You must be rich, think of all the clothes you can buy!" Alice said dreamily

Rachel just grimaced

**Some alt rock was blaring from her paint-covered Bose docking system. As far as I could tell, Rachel's only rule about music was that no two songs on her iPod could sound the same, and they all had to be strange.**

"You know what, you're different, you're one of a kind!" Apollo said beaming

**She wore a kimono, and her hair was frizzy, like she'd been sleeping. Her bed was messed up. Sheets hung over a bunch of artist's easels. Dirty clothes and old energy bar wrappers were strewn around the floor, but when you've got a room that big, the mess doesn't look so bad. Out the windows, you could see the entire nighttime skyline of Manhattan.**

"I'd love a view like that!" Bella sighed

**The picture she was attacking was a painting of me standing over the giant Antaeus. Rachel had painted it a couple of months ago. My expression in the picture was fierce-disturbing, even so, it was hard to tell if I was the good guy or the bad guy, but Rachel said I'd looked just like that after the battle.**

"My son Antaeus, you fought you're brother, How? He's a God!" Poseidon said shocked

"That's nothing Lord Poseidon; Percy fought Atlas, Lapetus, and Ares, not forgetting, Medusa, The furies, Hades, Ares, Polyphemus, Circe, Deimos, Phobos, Hyperion and so many more!" Thalia said

Percy was bright red in the face, Jason was looking at him in awe, and Hazel, Reyna, Frank, Leo, and Piper looked impressed and Annabeth, Nico, and Thalia looked proud

The Twilight gang were, beyond impressed

"He fought me?" Hades said

"Yep! In this book!" Nico his voice a little squeaky, he was terrified about what Poseidon would do too him

Ares huffed he hated being reminded of that

"My first quest was the worst one ever." Thalia said sadly

"Why?" Rosalie asked

"We lost two hunters that day, Bianca and Zoe," Percy continued

Artemis, Nico, and Hades looked near tears

"**Demigods," Rachel muttered as she threw another dart at the canvas. "And their stupid quests."**

Everyone laughed,

"Yeah, I really hate them too!" Leo said

**Most of the darts bounced off, but a few stuck. One hung off my chin like a goatee.**

**Someone pounded on her bedroom door.**

"**Rachel!" a man shouted. "What in the world are you doing? Turn off that-"**

"Fucking stereo!" Nico ended the sentence,

Thalia slapped him "Nico!"

**Rachel scooped up her remote control and shut off the music. "Come in!"**

**Her dad walked in, scowling and blinking from the light. He had rust-colored hair a little darker than Rachel's did. It was smashed on one side like he'd lost a fight with his pillow. His blue silk pajamas had "WD" monogrammed on the pocket. Seriously, who has monogrammed pajamas?**

"Rachel's Dad has!" Apollo said

Artemis slapped him "idiot that was a rhetorical question!"

"I didn't notice this before but, Thalia and Nico are lot like Apollo and Artemis, and the weird thing is we found Nico and Apollo and Artemis were there too!" Annabeth realized

Nico stuck his tongue out at Thalia

"**What is going on?" he demanded. "It's three in the morning."**

"**Couldn't sleep," Rachel said.**

**On the painting, a dart fell off my face. Rachel hid the rest behind her back, but Mr. Dare noticed.**

"**So . . . I take it your friend isn't coming to St. Thomas?" That's what Mr. Dare called me. Never Percy. Just your friend. Alternatively, young man if he was talking to me, which he rarely did.**

"Then why did he let you come!" Hermes asked

Nobody answered

**Rachel knit her eyebrows. "I don't know."**

"**We leave in the morning," her dad said. "If he hasn't made up his mind yet-"**

"**He's probably not coming," Rachel said miserably. "Happy?"**

**Mr. Dare put his hands behind his back. He paced the room with a stern expression. I imagined he did that in the boardroom of his land development company and made his employees nervous.**

"What! He works for land development!" Artemis said to Rachel

"I know, I'm really ashamed!" she replied sadly

"**Are you still having bad dreams?" he asked. "Headaches?"**

**Rachel threw her darts on the floor. "I should never have told you about that."**

"**I'm your father," he said. "I'm worried about you."**

"**Worried about the family's reputation," Rachel muttered.**

"I know where you are coming from!" Piper felt she could relate

**Her father didn't react-maybe because he'd heard that comment before, or maybe because it was true.**

"**We could call Dr. Arkwright," he suggested. "He helped you get through the death of your hamster."**

"**I was six then," she said. "And no, Dad, I don't need a therapist. I just . . ." She shook her head helplessly.**

"Nobody human can handle this!" Athena said

**Her father stopped in front of the windows. He gazed at the New York skyline as if he owned it-which wasn't true. He only owned part of it.**

"**It will be good for you to get away," he decided. "You've had some unhealthy influences."**

"**I'm not going to Clarion Ladies Academy," Rachel said. "And my friends are none of your business."**

**Mr. Dare smiled, but it wasn't a warm smile. It was more like, Someday you'll realize how silly you sound.**

"Honestly I hate fathers like that!" Apollo said, even if he didn't know how it felt

"**Try to get some sleep," he urged. "We'll be at the beach by tomorrow night. It will be fun."**

"**Fun," Rachel repeated. "Lots of fun."**

**Her father exited the room. He left the door open behind him.**

**Rachel stared at the portrait of me. Then she walked to the easel next to it, which was covered in a sheet.**

"**I hope they're dreams," she said.**

"they're most likely not dreams! Since she's the oracle, it'll probably be future disasters!" Apollo said

**She uncovered the easel. On it was a hastily sketched charcoal, but Rachel was a good artist. The picture was definitely Luke as a young boy. He was about nine years old, with a wide grin and no scar on his face. I had no idea how Rachel could've known what he looked like back then, but the portrait was so good I had a feeling she wasn't guessing. From what I knew about Luke's life (which wasn't much), the picture showed him just before he'd found out he was a half-blood and had run away from home.**

Hermes, Thalia, and Annabeth grimaced

**Rachel stared at the portrait. Then she uncovered the next easel. This picture was even more disturbing. It showed the Empire State Building with lightning all around it. In the distance, a dark storm was brewing, with a huge hand coming out of the clouds. At the base of the building, a crowd had gathered . . . but it wasn't a normal crowd of tourists and pedestrians. I saw spears, javelins, and banners-the trappings of an army.**

"**Percy," Rachel muttered, as if she knew I was listening, "what is going on?"**

"I didn't know you were listening!" Rachel said

**The dream faded, and the last thing I remember was wishing I could answer her question.**

**The next morning, I wanted to call her, but there were no phones at camp. Dionysus and Chiron didn't need a landline. They just called Olympus with an Iris-message whenever they needed something. And when demigods use cell phones, the signals agitate every monster within a hundred miles. It's like sending up a flare: Here I am! Please rearrange my face! Even within the safe borders of camp, that's not the kind of advertising we wanted to do.**

"That is a little similar to us; we can smell mutts if they are near by!" Edward wrinkled his nose

"We can smell leeches nearby, too!" Jacob retorted back

**Most demigods (except for Annabeth and a few others) don't even own cell phones. And I definitely couldn't tell Annabeth, "Hey, let me borrow your phone so I can call Rachel!" To make the call, I would've had to leave camp and walk several miles to the nearest convenience store. Even if Chiron let me go, by the time I got there, Rachel would've been on the plane to St. Thomas.**

"You have a Cell phone Annie!" Nico said surprised

"Yes, but don't call me Annie!"

**I ate a depressing breakfast by myself at the Poseidon table. I kept staring at the fissure in the marble floor where two years ago Nico had banished a bunch of bloodthirsty skeletons to the Underworld. The memory didn't exactly improve my appetite.**

"Yeah, sorry about that!" Nico said

**After breakfast, Annabeth and I walked down to inspect the cabins. Actually, it was Annabeth's turn for inspection. My morning chore was to sort through reports for Chiron. But since we both hated our jobs, we decided to do them together so it wouldn't be so heinous.**

**We started at the Poseidon cabin, which was basically just me. I'd made my bunk bed that morning (well, sort of) and straightened the Minotaur horn on the wall, so I gave myself a four out of five.**

"Obviously Percy would be generous to himself!" Thalia said

**Annabeth made a face. "You're being generous." She used the end of her pencil to pick up an old pair of running shorts.**

**I snatched them away. "Hey, give me a break. I don't have Tyson cleaning up after me this summer."**

"**Three out of five," Annabeth said. I knew better than to argue, so we moved along.**

"Ha ha! Seaweed brain, you knew I would win!" Annabeth stuck out her tongue

Percy did the same back

**I tried to skim through Chiron's stack of reports as we walked. There were messages from demigods, nature spirits, and satyrs all around the country, writing about the latest monster activity. They were pretty depressing, and my ADHD brain did not like concentrating on depressing stuff.**

"Demigods have ADHD," Emmet asked

"Yeah most of them and dyslexia too," annabeth said

**Little battles were raging everywhere. Camp recruitment was down to zero. Satyrs were having trouble finding new demigods and bringing them to Half-Blood Hill because so many monsters were roaming the country. Our friend Thalia, who led the Hunters of Artemis, hadn't been heard from in months, and if Artemis knew what had happened to them, she wasn't sharing information.**

"Like, I would!" Artemis rolled her eyes

**We visited the Aphrodite cabin, which of course got a five out of five. The beds were perfectly made. The clothes in everyone's footlockers were color coordinated. Fresh flowers bloomed on the windowsills. I wanted to dock a point because the whole place reeked of designer perfume, but Annabeth ignored me.**

"Percy, Perfumes good," Aphrodite said

"Not too much of it!" Percy grumbled

"**Great job as usual, Silena," Annabeth said.**

**Silena nodded listlessly. The wall behind her bed was decorated with pictures of Beckendorf. She sat on her bunk with a box of chocolates on her lap, and I remembered that her dad owned a chocolate store in the Village, which was how he'd caught the attention of Aphrodite.**

"Yeah, he made the best chocolate's!" Aphrodite said dreamily

"**You want a bonbon?" Silena asked. "My dad sent them. He thought-he thought they might cheer me up."**

"**Are they any good?" I asked.**

**She shook her head. "They taste like cardboard."**

**I didn't have anything against cardboard, so I tried one. Annabeth passed. We promised to see Silena later and kept going.**

"So did it taste like cardboard?" Thalia asked

"Nope, it was good!" Percy said

'_Ergh! Boys and their stomachs!_' Thalia rolled her eyes

**As we crossed the commons area, a fight broke out between the Ares and Apollo cabins. Some Apollo campers armed with firebombs flew over the Ares cabin in a chariot pulled by two pegasi. I'd never seen the chariot before, but it looked like a pretty sweet ride. Soon, the roof of the Ares cabin was burning, and naiads from the canoe lake rushed over to blow water on it.**

"What's happening," Ares and Apollo said together

**Then the Ares campers called down a curse, and all the Apollo kids' arrows turned to rubber. The Apollo kids kept shooting at the Ares kids, but the arrows bounced off.**

**Two archers ran by, chased by an angry Ares kid who was yelling in poetry: "Curse me, eh? I'll make you pay! , I don't want to rhyme all day!"**

**Annabeth sighed. "Not that again. Last time Apollo cursed a cabin, it took a week for the rhyming couplets to wear off."**

**I shuddered. Apollo was god of poetry as well as archery and I'd heard him recite in person. I'd almost rather yet shot by an arrow.**

"Humph! My poetry is good right! Right!" Apollo asked murderously

"Err…right Pollo your poetry is brilliant!" Hermes said a little uneasily

"**What are they fighting about anyway?" I asked.**

**Annabeth ignored me while she scribbled on her inspection scroll, giving both cabins a one out of five.**

**I found myself staring at her, which was stupid since I'd seen her a billion times. She and I were about the same height this summer, which was a relief. Still, she seemed so much more mature. It was kind of intimidating. I mean, sure, she'd always been cute, but she was starting to be seriously beautiful.**

"AWWW! PERCY'S IN LOVE!" Nico shrieked

"OMG NICO IS RIGHT! THAT IS SO CUTE!" Aphrodite squealed

"I've always been cute to you?" Annabeth said hugging Percy

"From the first day I met you!" Percy said kissing the top of her head

As much as Athena hated this relationship, she was happy her daughter was happy

**Finally, she said, "That flying chariot."**

"**What?"**

"**You asked what they were fighting about."**

"**Oh. Oh, right."**

"**They captured it in a raid in Philadelphia last week. Some of Luke's demigods were there with that flying chariot. The Apollo cabin seized it during the battle, but the Ares cabin led the raid. So they've been fighting about who gets it ever since."**

"My kids should get it!" Apollo said

"No, my kids!" Ares argued

**We ducked as Michael Yew's chariot dive-bombed an Ares camper. The Ares camper tried to stab him and cuss him out in rhyming couplets. He was pretty creative about rhyming those cuss words.**

"**We're fighting for our lives," I said, "and they're bickering about some stupid chariot."**

"**They'll get over it," Annabeth said. "Clarisse will come to her senses."**

"I don't know, that doesn't sound like Clarisse!" Jason said

**I wasn't so sure. That didn't sound like the Clarisse I knew.**

"that's what I thought Perce!" Jason grinned

**I scanned more reports and we inspected a few more cabins. Demeter got a four. Hephaestus got a three and probably should've gotten lower, but with Beckendorf being gone and all, we cut them some slack. Hermes got a two, which was no surprise. All campers who didn't know their godly parentage were shoved into the Hermes cabin, and since the gods were kind of forgetful, that cabin was always overcrowded.**

The Gods looked down sadly

"Not anymore!" Annabeth smirked when she saw their faces

TG and The Gods looked confused

**Finally, we got to Athena's cabin, which was orderly and clean as usual. Books were straightened on the shelves. The armor was polished. Battle maps and blueprints decorated the walls. Only Annabeth's bunk was messy. It was covered in papers, and her silver laptop was still running.**

"**Vlacas," Annabeth muttered, which was basically calling herself an idiot in Greek.**

"Vlacas, thanks for that Annabeth, I could call anyone of the pack an idiot and lie about it!" Jacob winked at her, but Percy didn't mind, he knew he was joking

"Err…Jake, we know, and we are in the pack!" Embry said gesturing Quil also

"Well, I'll trust you too keep it shielded then!" Jacob warned

"I wonder where I can find anymore!" Jacob said to himself

"You're a Vlacas! Jake obviously use Google translator" Reyna said to Jake

"Oh right thanks, and I know I'm a Vlacas!" Jake said as Reyna laughed

Bella watched, still was not over Jake not talking to her, but she knew one thing for sure, she now disliked Reyna even more **(A/n: Hey, I rhymed :p)**

**Her second-in-command, Malcolm, suppressed a smile. "Yeah, um . . . we cleaned everything else. Didn't know if it was safe to move your notes."**

**That was probably smart. Annabeth had a bronze knife that she reserved just for monsters and people who messed with her stuff.**

"So Percy belongs to you!" Thalia said as remember earlier

"Yes he does!" Annabeth Replied stubbornly

**Malcolm grinned at me. "We'll wait outside while you finish inspection." The Athena campers filed out the door while Annabeth cleaned up her bunk.**

**I shuffled uneasily and pretended to go through some more reports. Technically, even on inspection, it was against camp rules for two campers to be . . . like, alone in a cabin.**

"So two boys can't be alone in the cabin together!" Emmet said

"Correction two Gay boys can't be alone in the cabin together!" Alice corrected

"Or two lesbians!" Rosalie put in

**That rule had come up a lot when Silena and Beckendorf started dating. And I know some of you might be thinking, Aren't all demigods related on the godly side, and doesn't that make dating gross? But the thing is, the godly side of your family doesn't count, genetically speaking, since gods don't have DNA. A demigod would never think about dating someone who had the same godly parent. Like two kids from Athena cabin? No way. But a daughter of Aphrodite and a son of Hephaestus? They're not related. So it's no problem.**

"Even though they are not related it's still weird, no offence!" Quil said

"Yeah I wouldn't date Leah, coz it'll be like me dating my sister!" Embry said

**Anyway, for some strange reason I was thinking about this as I watched Annabeth straighten up. She closed her laptop, which had been given to her as a gift from the inventor Daedalus last summer.**

"Cool you met Daedalus!" Emmet said

"Wait, I thought he was dead!" Jasper said

"Well it turns out he was hiding in the labyrinth all this time!" Annabeth said

**I cleared my throat. "So . . . get any good info from that thing?"**

"**Too much," she said. "Daedalus had so many ideas, I could spend fifty years just trying to figure them all out."**

"**Yeah," I muttered. "That would be fun."**

"Sarcastic much!" Thalia said

**She shuffled her papers-mostly drawings of buildings and a bunch of handwritten notes. I knew she wanted to be an architect someday, but I'd learned the hard way not to ask what she was working on. She'd start talking about angles and load-bearing joints until my eyes glazed over.**

"Humph!" Annabeth huffed

"**You know . . ." She brushed her hair behind her ear, like she does when she's nervous. "This whole thing with Beckendorf and Silena. It kind of makes you think. About . . . what's important. About losing people who are important."**

"Aww! She wants you to admit you like her!" Aphrodite said to Percy

**I nodded. My brain started seizing on little random details, like the fact that she was still wearing those silver owl earrings from her dad, who was this brainiac military history professor in San Francisco.**

"**Urn, yeah," I stammered. "Like . . . is everything cool with your family?"**

"That was a really dumb question!" Thalia said

**Okay, really stupid question, but hey, I was nervous.**

"There nothing to be nervous about!" Jacob said

"Jacob, you trying being around the girl you liked for so long but you think she likes someone else, how would you feel!" Percy asked purposely for the sake of the plan

"Trust me, I've been there, but before I could admit it, I was too late!" Jake said half truthfully and half for the plan, so Reyna hugged him

Bella knew he was on about her, but she had no Idea he had felt this way for so long

**Annabeth looked disappointed, but she nodded.**

"**My dad wanted to take me to Greece this summer," she said wistfully. "I've always wanted to see-"**

"**The Parthenon," I remembered.**

**She managed a smile. "Yeah."**

"**That's okay. There'll be other summers, right?"**

**As soon as I said it, I realized it was a boneheaded comment. I was facing the end of my days. Within a week, Olympus might fall. If the Age of the Gods really did end, the world as we knew it would dissolve into chaos. Demigods would be hunted to extinction. There would be no more summers for us.**

"You are so pessimistic, you probably get it from fish face!" Athena said

"Oh shut up Owl head!" Poseidon retorted

**Annabeth stared at her inspection scroll. "Three out five," she muttered, "for a sloppy head counselor. Come on. Let's finish your reports and get back to Chiron."**

"At least you were being fair, unlike percy!" Nico said a little fearfully the chapter was so close

**On the way to the Big House, we read the last report, which was handwritten on a maple leaf from a satyr in Canada. If possible, the note made me feel even worse.**

"'**Dear Grover,'" I read aloud. "'Woods outside Toronto attacked by giant evil badger. Tried to do as you suggested and summon power of Pan. No effect. Many naiads' trees destroyed. Retreating to Ottawa. Please advise. Where are you? -Gleeson Hedge, protector.'"**

"Hey that's our protector!" Leo said and Piper and Jason Nodded

**Annabeth grimaced. "You haven't heard anything from him? Even with your empathy link?"**

**I shook my head dejectedly.**

**Ever since last summer when the god Pan had died, our friend Grover had been drifting farther and farther away. The Council of Cloven Elders treated him like an outcast, but Grover still traveled all over the East Coast, trying to spread the word about Pan and convince nature spirits to protect their own little bits of the wild. He'd only come back to camp a few times to see his girlfriend, Juniper.**

"Aww! He has a girlfriend!" Aphrodite cooed

**Last, I'd heard he was in Central Park organizing the dryads, but nobody had seen or heard from him in two months. We'd tried to send Iris-messages. They never got through. I had an empathy link with Grover, so I hoped I would know if anything bad happened to him. Grover had told me one time that if he died, the empathy link might kill me too. But I wasn't sure if that was still true or not.**

"Let's hope it's not!" Annabeth said

**I wondered if he was still in Manhattan. Then I thought about my dream of Rachel's sketch-dark clouds closing on the city, an army gathered around the Empire State Building.**

"**Annabeth." I stopped her by the tetherball court. I knew I was asking for trouble, but I didn't know whom else to trust. Plus, I'd always depended on Annabeth for advice. "Listen, I had this dream about, um, Rachel . . ."**

"Oh shit, you did not just do that!" Thalia said

"Well duh! It's obvious the girl likes you, and talking about another girl would totally piss her off!" Bella agreed and Annabeth sighed

**I told her the whole thing, even the weird picture of Luke as a child.**

**For a while, she didn't say anything. Then she rolled up her inspection scroll so tight she ripped it. "What do you want me to say?"**

"She's jealous!" Nico said, Annabeth glared at him

"**I'm not sure. You're the best strategist I know. If you were Kronos planning this war, what would you do next?"**

"**I'd use Typhon as a distraction. Then I'd hit Olympus directly, while the gods were in the West."**

"**Just like in Rachel's picture."**

"Again with the Rachel thing, are you trying to make her hate you!" Rosalie said

"**Percy," she said her voice tight, "Rachel is just a mortal."**

"**But what if her dream is true? Those other Titans-they said Olympus would be destroyed in a matter of days. They said they had plenty of other challenges. And what's with that picture of Luke as a kid-"**

"**We'll just have to be ready."**

"**How?" I said. "Look at our camp. We can't even stop fighting each other. And I'm supposed to get my stupid soul reaped."**

"**Percy have you ever tried looking on the good side on things!" Thalia said**

"How can you if there isn't a good side!" Percy said miserably

**She threw down her scroll. "I knew we shouldn't have shown you the prophecy." Her voice was angry and hurt. "All it did was scare you. You run away from things when you're scared."**

**I stared at her, completely stunned. "Me? Run away?"**

**She got right in my face. "Yes, you. You're a coward, Percy Jackson!"**

"Annabeth are you mad, Percy is the bravest person I've met, he took on a giant, and he came to Camp Jupiter in faith of finding you, I am proud to have him in my army!" Reyna said

"A giant!" Poseidon gasped

"Yes! Percy took on the anti-Poseidon, Polybotes!" Hazel said

"My son took on a giant and lived!" Poseidon said proudly

"You have an army? That's cool!" Jacob said

"Yeah, a roman one, Percy was supposed to be a leader too but he stepped down and so Jason and I are the leaders!" Reyna explained

'_Oh great!'_ thought Bella _'she's pretty and an army leader!"_

**We were nose to nose. Her eyes were red, and I suddenly realized that when she called me a coward, maybe she wasn't talking about the prophecy.**

"Maybe she was!" Reyna said

"**If you don't like our chances," she said, "maybe you should go on that vacation with Rachel."**

"**Annabeth-"**

"**If you don't like our company."**

"**That's not fair!"**

**She pushed past me and stormed toward the strawberry fields. She hit the tetherball as she passed and sent it spinning angrily around the pole.**

"Wow! An angry Annabeth is as bad as an angry Piper!" Leo said

They both glared at him

"Great, now I have two pretty girls angry at me!" Leo muttered

**I'd like to say my day got better from there. Of course it didn't.**

**That afternoon we had an assembly at the campfire to burn Beckendorf's burial shroud and say our good-byes. Even the Ares and Apollo cabins called a temporary truce to attend.**

**Beckendorf's shroud was made out of metal links like chain mail. I didn't see how it would burn, but the Fates must've been helping out. The metal melted in the fire and turned to golden smoke, which rose into the sky. The campfire flames always reflected the campers' moods, and today they burned black.**

"This meant the Camp was upset!" Thalia said

**I hoped Beckendorf's spirit would end up in Elysium. Maybe he'd even choose to be reborn and try for Elysium in three different lifetimes so he could reach the Isles of the Blest, which was like the Underworld's ultimate party headquarters. If anyone deserved it, Beckendorf did.**

"I'll make sure he does!" Hades said

**Annabeth left without a word to me. Most of the other campers drifted off to their afternoon activities. I just stood there staring at the dying fire. Silena sat nearby crying, while Clarisse and her boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez, tried to comfort her.**

"She has a boyfriend!" Aphrodite said

**Finally, I got up the nerve to walk over. "Hey, Silena, I'm really sorry."**

**She sniffled. Clarisse glared at me, but she always glares at everyone. Chris would barely look at me. He'd been one of Luke's men until Clarisse rescued him from the Labyrinth last summer, and I guess he still felt guilty about it.**

Hermes looked down, was he really that bad of a father?

**I cleared my throat. "Silena, you know Beckendorf carried your picture. He looked at it right before we went into battle. You meant a lot to him. You made the last year the best of his life."**

"That's nice, it might cheer her up!" Demeter said

**Silena sobbed.**

"Or not!" Thalia muttered

"**Good work, Percy," Clarisse muttered.**

"**No, it's all right," Silena, said. "Thank . . . thank you, Percy. I should go."**

"**You want company?" Clarisse asked.**

**Silena shook her head and ran off.**

"**She's stronger than she looks," Clarisse muttered, almost to herself. "She'll survive."**

"**You could help with that," I suggested. "You could honor Beckendorf's memory by fighting with us."**

"That might work, making her feel guilty!" Athena said

**Clarisse went for her knife, but it wasn't there anymore. She'd thrown it on the Ping-Pong table in the Big House.**

"**Not my problem," she growled. "My cabin doesn't get honor, I don't fight."**

"Ares kids always the stubborn ones!" Athena muttered

**I noticed she wasn't speaking in rhymes. Maybe she hadn't been around when her cabin mates got cursed, or maybe she had a way of breaking the spell. With a chill, I wondered if Clarisse could be Kronos's spy at camp. Was that why she was keeping her cabin out of the fight? But as much as I disliked Clarisse, spying for the Titans didn't seem like her style.**

"Naah! Clarisse wouldn't do that!" Ares said

"**All right," I told her. "I didn't want to bring this up, but you owe me one. You'd be rotting in a Cyclops's cave in the Sea of Monsters if it wasn't for me."**

"You went to the Sea of monsters!" Poseidon said

"Yep!"

"Wow! Son what haven't you done!" **(A/n: I rhymed again) **

"I don't know dad!" Percy said

**She clenched her jaw. "Any other favor, Percy. Not this. The Ares cabin has been dissed too many times. And don't think I don't know what people say about me behind my back."**

**I wanted to say, well, it's true. But I bit my tongue.**

"**So, what-you're just going to let Kronos crush us?" I asked.**

"**If you want my help so bad, tell Apollo to give us the chariot."**

"That is so childish!" Thalia said

"**You're such a big baby."**

"Exactly my point!"

**She charged me, but Chris got between us. "Whoa, guys," he said. "Clarisse, you know, maybe he's got a point."**

**She sneered at him. "Not you too!" She trudged off with Chris at her heels.**

"**Hey, wait! I just meant-Clarisse, wait!"**

**I watched the last sparks from Beckendorf's fire curl into the afternoon sky. Then I headed toward the sword-fighting arena. I needed a break, and I wanted to see an old friend.**

'_Shit! I am so dead when we read the next chapter! they are' bound to work it out!' _Nico thought

"Done!" Athena said

**Hey there, I hope you liked the chapter**

**Tell me if you have any idea's, I am taking this real slow, I don't believe in love at first sight so Bella's feelings are changing, with jealously as she wants Jake more. **

**Don't worry about Jake's and Reyna's relationship; they feel nothing for each other **

**Therefore, you are welcome to review and please recommend this to other team Jacob fans please **

**Review and Recommend **

**Maleena xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	7. Chapter 7: my dog in a tree

A/n: I own nothing

"Why don't I read?" Aphrodite asked

"Sure!" Athena said handing the book to her

"I drive my Dog into a tree!" she began

"You have a dog?" Emmet asked

"Yeah!"

"Let's hope yours doesn't stink as much as they do!" Rosalie muttered, she had been holding her breath for a while

Thanks to the sensitive hearing, Jacob and the guys heard and began to shake violently as if they were too Phase. Reyna and Rachel calmed them by rubbing their arms.

Bella hated watching this; she could remember when she used to calm Jake.

**Mrs. O'Leary saw me before I saw her, which was a pretty good trick considering she's the size of a garbage truck**.

"You named her Mrs. O'Leary!" Rosalie said in disbelief

"Not me, the owner before!" Percy said

"Yo! The size of a garbage truck, wow even we aren't that huge!" Jacob said

Bella had one thought running through her mind at that moment _'please don't ask him to phase,'_her head repeated over and over

"Can you show us?" Reyna asked Bella mentally groaned

"At the end of the Chapter!" Jake replied

**I walked into the arena, and a wall of darkness slammed into me.**

"**WOOF!"**

**The next thing I knew I was flat on the ground with a huge paw on my chest and an oversize Brillo-pad tongue licking my face.**

"Ewww! That must be gross!" Rosalie said wrinkling her nose in disgust

"**Ow!" I said. "Hey, girl. Good to see you too. Ow!"**

**It took a few minutes for Mrs. O'Leary to calm down and get off me. By then I was pretty much drenched in dog drool. She wanted to play fetch, so I picked up a bronze shield and tossed it across the arena.**

**By the way, Mrs. O'Leary is the world's only friendly hellhound.**

…

"Cool! Why didn't you say you had hellhound for a pet?" Emmet said

"Must have slipped my mind!" Percy smirked

Poseidon paled, "a Hellhound!" he muttered

"Don't worry dad, she was trained by Daedulas!" Percy assured

Poseidon looked relieved

Hades looked surprised

**I kind of inherited her when her previous owner died. She lived at camp, but Beckendorf . . . well, Beckendorf used to take care of her whenever I was gone. He had smelted Mrs. O'Leary's favorite bronze chewing bone. He'd forged her collar with the little smiley face and a crossbones nametag. Next to me, Beckendorf had been her best friend.**

"At least he's in a better place now!" Hephaestus said

**Thinking about that made me sad all over again, but I threw the shield a few more times, because Mrs. O'Leary insisted.**

"Aww! She sounds adorable!" Quil cooed sounding like Aphrodite

Everyone looked at him

Embry and Jacob were too busy cracking up; they were bright red, and had tears on their faces

"I think Quil has a crush!" Embry whispered to Jake

Quil slapped him

**Soon she started barking-a sound slightly louder than artillery gun-like she needed to go for a walk. The other campers didn't think it was funny when she went to the bathroom in the arena. It had caused more than one unfortunate slip-and-slide accident. Therefore, I opened the gates of the arena, and she bounded straight toward the woods.**

"I think Quil's right, she does sound adorable!" Aphrodite agreed

**I jogged after her, not too concerned that she was getting ahead. Nothing in the woods could threaten Mrs. O'Leary. Even the dragons and giant scorpions ran away when she came close.**

"Cool, a protector dog, wish I had one!" Embry said

Jacob slapped him, "idiot! You are one!" He reminded

"Oh yeah."

**When I finally tracked her down, she wasn't using the facilities. She was in a familiar clearing where the Council of Cloven Elders had once put Grover on trial. The place didn't look so good. The grass had turned yellow. The three topiary thrones had lost all their leaves. But that's not what surprised me. **

"What was there somebody there?" Leo asked

**In the middle of the glade stood the weirdest trio, I'd ever seen: Juniper the tree nymph, Nico di Angelo, and a very old, very fat satyr.**

Thalia and Annabeth burst out laughing

"Percy just called Nico weird!" they said breathlessly

"Well, in a way I am, and in a way so are you!" Nico said maturely

Everyone but Thalia, Percy, and Annabeth looked confused._ 'Why was he acting so different?'_

But the three not confused, understood

**Nico was the only one who didn't seem freaked out by Mrs. O'Leary's appearance. He looked pretty much like I'd seen him in my dream-an aviator's jacket, black jeans, and a T-shirt with dancing skeletons on it, like one of those Day of the Dead pictures. His Stygian iron sword hung at his side. He was only twelve, but he looked much older and sadder.**

Nico wore the same now,

"How old are you now?" Alice asked

"13, almost 14!" Nico replied

"Great, another war in a few years! If only there something like the hunters for a boy!" Thalia sighed

"Well Hazel isn't a problem, she can join, and then her war won't come!" Artemis said

"No! Not again!" Nico shouted, thinking of Bianca

"Shut up Nico, Come on Hazel, it'll be great!" Thalia encouraged

Hazel stared at Thalia for a while and then looked toward, Nico, Frank, and Hades who were shaking there heads

"I'm sorry, Lady Artemis but, I love my life as I have it!" Hazel said

The others looked relieved

**He nodded when he saw me, and then went back to scratching Mrs. O'Leary's ears. She sniffed his legs like he was the most interesting thing since rib-eye steaks. Being the son of Hades, he'd probably been traveling in all sorts of hellhound-friendly places.**

"Dogs are weird sometimes!" Leo said

Edward and Rosalie burst out laughing

The werewolves glared at him as he cowered and said sorry

**The old satyr didn't look nearly so happy. "Will someone-what is this underworld creature doing in my forest!" He waved his arms and trotted on his hooves as if the grass were hot. "You there, Percy Jackson! Is this your beast?"**

"**Sorry, Leneus," I said. "That's your name, right?"**

**The satyr rolled his eyes. His fur was dust-bunny gray, and a spiderweb grew between his horns. His belly would've made him an invincible bumper car. "Well, of course I'm Leneus. Don't tell me you've forgotten a member of the Council so quickly. Now, call off your beast!"**

"Those satyrs are so stubborn!" Dionysus said, who knew he was listening

"**WOOF!" Mrs. O'Leary said happily.**

**The old satyr gulped. "Make it go away! Juniper, I will not help you under these circumstances!"**

**Juniper turned toward me. She was pretty in a dryad-y way, with her purple gossamer dress and her elfish face, but her eyes were green-tinted with chlorophyll from crying.**

"Why is she crying, what happened?" Thalia asked

"Grover is missing!" Percy said

"**Percy," she sniffled. "I was just asking about Grover. I know something's happened. He wouldn't stay gone this long if he wasn't in trouble. I was hoping that Leneus-"**

"**I told you!" the satyr protested. "You are better off without that traitor."**

"How is he a traitor, he found pan!" Hermes asked confused

"They think he's lying!" Annabeth said

**Juniper stamped her foot. "He is not a traitor! He's the bravest satyr ever, and I want to know where he is!"**

"**WOOF!"**

**Leneus's knees started knocking. "I . . . I won't answer questions with this hellhound sniffing my tail!"**

**Nico looked like he was trying to not crack up. "I'll walk the dog," he volunteered.**

**He whistled, and Mrs. O'Leary bounded after him to the far end of the grove.**

"How come she likes you so much?" Leo asked

"Hell-o, son of Hades here!" Nico said

"Oh right!"

**Leneus huffed indignantly and brushed the twigs off his shirt. "Now, as I was trying to explain, young lady, your boyfriend has not sent any reports since we voted him into exile."**

"**You tried to vote him into exile," I corrected. "Chiron and Dionysus stopped you."**

"**Bah! They are honorary Council members. It wasn't a proper vote."**

"If I say he is not in exile, then he isn't!" Dionysus said almost angrily

"**I'll tell Dionysus you said that."**

**Leneus paled. "I only meant . . . Now see here, Jackson. This is none of your business."**

"**Grover's my friend," I said. "He wasn't lying to you about Pan's death. I saw it myself. You were just too scared to accept the truth."**

"For once Percy that was clever!" Thalia teased

"Hey, I can be clever!" Percy pouted

**Leneus's lips quivered. "No! Grover's a liar and good riddance. We're better off without him."**

**I pointed at the withered thrones. "If things are going so well, where are your friends? Looks like your Council hasn't been meeting lately."**

"Yeah! Percy is on a roll!" Apollo cheered

"**Maron and Silenus . . . I . . . I'm sure they'll be back," he said, but I could hear the panic in his voice. "They're just taking some time off to think. It's been a very unsettling year.**

"**It's going to get a lot more unsettling," I promised. "Leneus, we need Grover. There's got to be a way you can find him with your magic."**

"Seriously so many bad things are happening, Annabeth's and Percy's relationship falling apart, Rachel having weird dreams, there is a spy at camp, Beckendorf is dead, Silena has lost faith in everything, Typhon is attacking, there are more threats planned. Grover is missing, Apollo and Ares Cabin are fighting over a chariot, Ares kids aren't even helping, Poseidon is having trouble and Percy is worried about Nico's plan!" Aphrodite said ticking things off her fingers

They all stared at her in shock, when did she get so observant

"Wow! That is a lot, and that is only in one book, tell me how you lived!" Alice said

"Well we all had each other!" Percy said

**The old satyr's eye twitched. "I'm telling you, I've heard nothing. Perhaps he's dead."**

**Juniper choked back a sob.**

"**He's not dead," I said. "I can feel that much."**

"**Empathy links," Leneus said disdainfully. "Very unreliable."**

"Actually very reliable, they led me to the golden fleece and Grover!" Percy said

TG watching in awe, what hadn't this boy done?

"**So ask around," I insisted. "Find him. There's a war coming. Grover was preparing the nature spirits."**

"**Without my permission! And it's not our war."**

**I grabbed him by the shirt, which seriously wasn't like me, but the stupid old goat was making me mad. "Listen, Leneus. When Kronos attacks, he's going to have packs of hellhounds. He's going to destroy everything in his path-mortals, gods, demigods. Do you think he'll let the satyrs go free? You're supposed to be a leader. So LEAD. Get out there and see what's happening. Find Grover and bring Juniper some news. Now, GO!"**

"Alright Percy, be the man, born to be boss!" Apollo cheered

"Not really, I gave up my praetor title to back to Jason, I prefer second in command!" Percy admitted

"Percy, you deserve it!" Jason said

"But it wasn't mine to take!" Percy quarreled

"But Percy you saved the camp from Polybotes!" Jason reminded

"But Jason you would have too if you were there!" Percy put forward

"True, but you are much braver than me; you would do a better job!" Jason argued

"But your dad is Zeus/Jupiter you were born to!" Percy countered

Annabeth and Piper watched as their boyfriend argued, they sighed and shook their head, the boys were way too modest

"Bro, Cuz, you are doing my head in, if you effing keep on arguing, I will duct tape both of you!" Thalia warned

"Sorry Thal!" they said together

**I didn't push him very hard, but he was kind of top-heavy. He fell on his furry rump, then scrambled to his hooves and ran away with his belly jiggling. "Grover will never be accepted! He will die an outcast!"**

**When he'd disappeared into the bushes, Juniper wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, Percy. I didn't mean to get you involved. Leneus is still a lord of the Wild. You don't want to make an enemy of him."**

"Per-lease, Percy has worse enemies!" Thalia scoffed

"**No problem," I said. "I've got worse enemies than overweight satyrs."**

"That's what I said!"

**Nico walked back to us. "Good job, Percy. Judging from the trail of goat pellets, I'd say you shook him up pretty well."**

**I was afraid I knew why Nico was here, but I tried for a smile. "Welcome back. Did you come by just to see Juniper?"**

**He blushed. **

"OMG! This is such a love Triangle, Grover, Juniper and Nico!" Aphrodite shrieked

"I don't like her!" Nico denied

Percy face-palmed, silently cursing himself for his thoughts and observant nature

"**Um, no. That was an accident. I kind of . . . dropped into the middle of their conversation."**

"**He scared us to death!" Juniper said. "Right out of the shadows. However, Nico, you are the son of Hades and all. Are you sure you haven't heard anything about Grover?"**

"He won't be able to tell!" Hades said

**Nico shifted his weight. "Juniper, like I tried to tell you . . . even if Grover died, he would reincarnate into something else in nature. I can't sense things like that, only mortal souls."**

"Vampires don't have souls, so what if one was killed, would you feel it!" Emmet asked

"To tell the truth I have no idea!" Nico said

"**But if you do hear anything?" she pleaded, putting her hand on his arm. "Anything at all?"**

**Nico's cheeks got even brighter red. "Uh, you bet. I'll keep my ears open."**

"I knew it, he does like her!" Aphrodite said

"No Nico doesn't he's just like that around pretty girls!" Annabeth said

"So why is ok now?" Alice asked, all the girls there were pretty

"Oh, I've been around this lot too long, I don't get nervous no more!" Nico explained

"**We'll find him, Juniper," I promised. "Grover's alive, I'm sure. There must be a simple reason why he hasn't contacted us."**

**She nodded glumly. "I hate not being able to leave the forest. He could be anywhere, and I'm stuck here waiting. Oh, if that silly goat has gotten himself hurt-"**

**Mrs. O'Leary bounded back over and took an interest in Juniper's dress.**

"That's a bit random isn't it?" Apollo said

"Well obviously you would notice the random things!" Artemis said

Apollo pouted

**Juniper yelped. "Oh, no you don't! I know about dogs and trees. I'm gone!"**

**She went poof into green mist. Mrs. O'Leary looked disappointed, but she lumbered off to find another target, leaving Nico and me alone.**

**Nico tapped his sword on the ground. A tiny mound of animal bones erupted from the dirt. They knit themselves together into a skeletal field mouse and scampered off. "I was sorry to hear about Beckendorf."**

"How did you know?" Leo said forgetting that Sons of Hades could talk to ghosts

**A lump formed in my throat. "How did you-"**

"**I talked to his ghost."**

"Oh!"

"**Oh . . . right." I'd never get used to the fact that this twelve-year-old kid spent more time talking with the dead than the living. "Did he say anything?"**

"**He doesn't blame you. He figured you'd be beating yourself up, and he said you shouldn't."**

"**Is he going to try for rebirth?"**

**Nico shook his head. "He's staying in Elysium. Said he's waiting for someone. Not sure what he meant, but he seems okay with death."**

"Silena." Aphrodite bowed her head and everyone understood

**It wasn't much comfort, but it was something.**

"**I had a vision you were on Mount Tarn," I told Nico. "Was that-?"**

"**Real," he said. "I didn't mean to be spying on the Titans, but I was in the neighborhood."**

"**Doing what?"**

**Nico tugged at his sword belt. "Following a lead on . . . you know, my family."**

"Nico!" Hades sighed, "I know you were lonely! But you can't!"

"Sorry dad, but I already did!" Nico said sheepishly

**I nodded. I knew his past was a painful subject. Until two years ago, he and his sister Bianca had been frozen in time at a place called the Lotus Hotel and Casino. They'd been there for like seventy years. Eventually a mysterious lawyer rescued them and checked them into a boarding school, but Nico had no memories of his life before the casino. He didn't know anything about his mother. He didn't know who the lawyer was, or why they'd been frozen in time or allowed to go free. After Bianca died and left Nico alone, he'd been obsessed with finding answers.**

"**So how did it go?" I asked. "Any luck?"**

"**No," he murmured. "But I may have a new lead soon."**

"Let me guess, that new lead was Hazel!" Percy said glaring

"Percy I'm sorry but I couldn't mess with fate!" Nico said

Percy nodded he was over it now

"**What's the lead?"**

**Nico chewed his lip. "That's not important right now. You know why I'm here."**

**A feeling of dread started to build in my chest. Ever since Nico first proposed his plan for beating Kronos last summer, I'd had nightmares about it. He would show up occasionally and press me for an answer, but I kept putting him off.**

Athena gasped, "I think I know!" she said looking at Percy fearfully

She mouthed 'Achilles' at Percy and he nodded

"**Nico, I don't know," I said. "It seems pretty extreme."**

"**You've got Typhon coming in, what . . . a week? Most of the other Titans are unleashed now and on Kronos's side. Maybe it's time to think extreme."**

**I looked back toward the camp. Even from this distance, I could hear the Ares and Apollo campers fighting again, yelling curses, and spouting bad poetry.**

"**They're no match for the Titan army," Nico said. "You know that. This comes down to you and Luke. And there's only one way you can beat Luke."**

This got the Olympians thinking

**I remembered the fight on the Princess Andromeda. I'd been hopelessly outmatched. Kronos had almost killed me with a single cut to my arm and I couldn't even wound him. Riptide had glanced right off his skin.**

Poseidon understood, he sent a mind message to Percy

'_You didn't, did you do son' _he asked

'_I did, I'm sorry Dad,'_

'_It's not your fault, son'_

'_Don't blame Nico either!' _

'_Ok!'_

"**We can give you the same power," Nico urged. "You heard the Great Prophecy. Unless you want to have your soul reaped by a cursed blade . . ."**

"Did you have to say that?" Annabeth said

"Sorry, that was only way!" Nico said

**I wondered how Nico had heard the prophecy- probably from some ghost.**

"**You can't prevent a prophecy," I said.**

"**But you can fight it." Nico had a strange, hungry light in his eyes. "You can become invincible."**

"OMG! Nico has gone evil!" Apollo said

Everyone rolled his or her eyes

"**Maybe we should wait. Try to fight without-"**

"**No!" Nico snarled. "It has to be now!"**

**I stared at him. I hadn't seen his temper flare like that in a long time. "Urn, you sure you're okay?"**

**He took a deep breath. "Percy, all I mean . . . when the fighting starts, we won't be able to make the journey. This is our last chance. I'm sorry if I'm being too pushy, but two years ago, my sister gave her life to protect you. I want you to honor that. Do whatever it takes to stay alive and defeat Kronos."**

"He has a point!"

**I didn't like the idea. Then I thought about Annabeth calling me a coward, and I got angry.**

"So it's my fault, you did it!" Annabeth said

"Well, yeah sorta!" Percy said

"Idiot," Annabeth slapped him, he muttered 'ow' and Athena heard and she was confused

**Nico had a point. If Kronos attacked New York, the campers would be no match for his forces. I had to do something. Nico's way was dangerous-maybe even deadly. But it might give me a fighting edge.**

"**All right," I decided. "What do we do first?"**

**His cold creepy smile made me sorry I'd agreed. "First we'll need to retrace Luke's steps. We need to know more about his past, his childhood."**

"Good, Keep your friends closer and your enemies closer, it's best to find out there weaknesses!" Ares offered good advice

**I shuddered, thinking about Rachel's picture from my dream-a smiling nine-year-old Luke. "Why do we need to know about that?"**

"**I'll explain when we get there," Nico said. "I've already tracked down his mother. She lives in Connecticut."**

**I stared at him. I'd never thought much about Luke's mortal parent. I'd met his dad, Hermes, but his mom . . .**

Hermes sighed, "Poor May!"

"**Luke ran away when he was really young," I said. "I didn't think his mom was alive."**

"**Oh, she's alive." The way he said it made me wonder what was wrong with her. What kind of horrible person could she be?**

"She's not Horrible, just in pain and rejected!" Hermes said pain in his voice, Apollo patted his shoulder

Heartless at he was, Hades hated himself at the moment

"**Okay . . ." I said. "So how do we get to Connecticut? I can call Blackjack-"**

"**No." Nico scowled. "Pegasi don't like me and the feeling is mutual. But there's no need for flying." He whistled, and Mrs. O'Leary came loping out of the woods.**

"**Your friend here can help." Nico patted her head. "You haven't tried shadow travel yet?"**

"**Shadow travel?"**

"You finally learned to shadow travel!" Hades beamed at his Son

"Yes, but unfortunately, I passed out for a week the first time!" Nico said smiling at his dad

**Nico whispered in Mrs. O'Leary's ear. She tilted her head, suddenly alert.**

"**Hop on board," Nico told me.**

**I'd never considered riding a dog before, bur Mrs. O'Leary was certainly big enough. I climbed onto her back and held her collar.**

"Good thing, she's huge!" Leo said

"**This will make her very tired," Nico warned, "so you can't do it often. And it works best at night. But all shadows are part of the same substance. There is only one darkness, and creatures of the Underworld can use it as a road, or a door."**

"**I don't understand," I said.**

"**No," Nico said. "It took me a long time to learn. But Mrs. O'Leary knows. Tell her where to go. Tell her Westport, the home of May Castellan."**

"I wondered where you disappeared to!" Annabeth said

"**You're not coming?"**

"**Don't worry," he said. "I'll meet you there."**

**I was a little nervous, but I leaned down to Mrs. O'Leary's ear. "Okay, girl. Uh, can you take me to Westport, Connecticut? May Castellan's place?"**

**Mrs. O'Leary sniffed the air. She looked into the gloom of the forest. Then she bounded forward, straight into an oak tree.**

**Just before we hit, we passed into shadows as cold as the dark side of the moon.**

"Done!" Aphrodite said

**Hi Maleena here, thank you so much for the reviews**

**Thanks for suggesting Renesme PJO rule, I have an idea, though she will come from the future, but she isn't Edward daughter, but Jacob's**

**How that?**

**Review!**


	8. Chapter 8: Scorched cookies

A/n: disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise

"Jake, you promised to show me your wolf form!" Reyna reminded

"Oh right, I did, didn't I !" Jacob and the other wolves got up and made their way to the door

"Where are you going?" Reyna said

The boys turned to see everyone except for the Cullen's and Bella looking confused

"Our clothes!" Jake gestured his clothes

Aphrodite remembered, from reading new moon

"Oh don't worry, I put a spell on your clothes so that when you phase back, your jeans would automatically go back on you, you'd only be shirtless, clothes _are_ my specialty you know!" Aphrodite said

The wolves nodded and Phased

The Demigods and Olympians watched in awe as the three wolves padded around the room, Embry went over too Hestia and nuzzled her hand as she stroked his fur. Quil went over by Aphrodite and Athena and did some tricks, while Jake settled down on the floor by Reyna as she stroked the russet fur on his head.

"Gods, you are so Beautiful as a wolf!" She said loudly, making sure Bella heard, Jake let out a happy growl

Meanwhile Bella was glaring at the ground, she longed to run her fingers through Jacob's fur, she didn't like Reyna doing it, she didn't trust her, and she had always heard that the pretty ones were the ones to fear, she knew Reyna would end up hurting him. But what she didn't realize was, she had done exactly the same, she had hurt him too.

"Okay, Boys can you please be human again, so we can read!" Zeus said

The wolves phased back and sat down, not bothering to put a shirt on

Bella was angry at this, she wanted to put a blindfold over Reyna's eyes, or even poke her eyes out for all the staring Reyna was doing, and even worse was, Jake didn't seem to mind.

"Hephaestus, it's your turn to read!" Aphrodite said cheerfully

"Ok!" He said gruffly

"**My cookies get scorched**!" He began

"I knew Percy was a bad cook, he managed to burn salad!" Annabeth said laughing,

Percy pouted

Nico and Thalia smirked

"We were at Sally's, when she was at work, and he tried to make dinner!" Annabeth said

"You were round Sally's! just the two of you!" Athena asked horrified **(A/n: she's like my mum, doesn't let my boyfriend stay alone with me)**

Everyone understood what Athena was on about, a blush crept on too Percy's and Annabeth's cheeks

"Don't worry Lady Athena, Nico, Rachel and I was there also, we were watching movies!" Thalia explained

Athena let out a breath

"Can you burn salad, is it possible, coz I don't think there's any fire involved!" Bella asked, she rarely burned anything

"Well, that's Percy for ya," Rachel said

**I don't recommend shadow travel if you're scared of:**

**a) The dark**

**b) Cold shivers up your spine**

**c) Strange noises**

**d) Going so fast you feel like your face is peeling off**

"Okay, then it's definitely not for me!" Reyna shook her head

"Shadow travel is stupid! Vapor travel is so much better!" Poseidon said

"Oh no it isn't, fish face!" Hades argued

"What's vapor travel Dad!" Percy asked

"I'll show you at the end of the book!" Poseidon promised

**In other words, I thought it was awesome. One minute I couldn't see anything. I could only feel Mrs. O'Leary's fur and my fingers wrapped around the bronze links of her dog collar.**

"You complain about it, but still like it, boys are such Retards!" Reyna complained

"Well, I'm your retard then!" Jake said pulling Reyna in a one armed rib-cracking hug

Bella almost growled, she remembered when Jacob, 'her Best Friend' gave her hugs like that

"Eek! Jake! Let me go, no offence but you're too warm, and I hate too much heat, maybe when I'm colder!" Reyna squeaked

"Sorry,"

Bella felt slightly happy that Reyna had rejected him, she couldn't lose her best friend too a girl she didn't know

**The next minute the shadows melted into a new scene. We were on a cliff in the woods of Connecticut. At least, it looked like Connecticut from the few times I'd been there: lots of trees, low stone walls, big houses. Down one side of the cliff, a highway cut through a ravine. Down the other side was someone's backyard. The property was huge-more wilderness than lawn. The house was a two-story white Colonial. Despite the fact that it was right on the other side of the hill from a highway, it felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. I could see a light glowing m the kitchen window. A rusty old swing set stood under an apple tree.**

Hermes smiled sadly

**I couldn't imagine living in a house like this, with an actual yard and everything. I'd lived in a tiny apartment or a school dorm my whole life. If this was Luke's home, I wondered why he'd ever wanted to leave.**

"It wasn't the house that made him want to leave!" Thalia said

**Mrs. O'Leary staggered. I remembered what Nico had said about shadow travel draining her, so I slipped off her back. She let out a huge toothy yawn that would've scared a T. rex, then turned in a circle and flopped down so hard the ground shook.**

"I wish I had hellhound as a pet!" Leo sighed

**Nico appeared right next to me, as if the shadows had darkened and created him. He stumbled, but I caught his arm.**

"**I'm okay," he managed, rubbing his eyes.**

"**How did you do that?"**

"**Practice. A few times running into walls. A few accidental trips to China."**

"And too the roman camp!" Nico added

Percy glared at him, but didn't say anything

**Mrs. O'Leary started snoring. If it hadn't been for the roar of traffic behind us, I'm sure she would've woken up the whole neighborhood.**

"**Are you going to take a nap too?" I asked Nico.**

**He shook his head. "The first time I shadow traveled, I passed out for a week. Now it just makes me a little drowsy, but I can't do it more than once or twice a night. Mrs. O'Leary won't be going anywhere for a while."**

"Well, vapor travel doesn't do that!" Poseidon said smugly

Hades ignored him

"**So we've got some quality time in Connecticut." I gazed at the white Colonial house. "What now?"**

"**We ring the doorbell," Nico said.**

**If I were Luke's mom, I would not have opened my door at night for two strange kids. But I wasn't anything like Luke's mom.**

"Percy You've just called yourself strange!" Thalia said

"Oh shut up Thalia!"

**I knew that even before we reached the front door. The sidewalk was lined with those little stuffed beanbag animals you see in gift shops. There were miniature lions, pigs, dragons, hydras, even a tiny Minotaur in a little Minotaur diaper. Judging from their sad shape, the beanbag creatures had been sitting out here a long time-since the snow melted last spring at least. One of the hydras had a tree sapling sprouting between its necks.**

Annabeth and Thalia smiled sadly, they remembered the toys and beanbags

**The front porch was infested with wind chimes. Shiny bits of glass and metal clinked in the breeze. Brass ribbons tinkled like water and made me realize I needed to use the bathroom. I didn't know how Ms. Castellan could stand all the noise.**

**The front door was painted turquoise. The name CASTELLAN was written in English, and below in Greek: Διοικητής φρουρίου.**

"Did you guys have to learn Greek?" Emmet asked

"No, it we already knew it, Latin for the romans!" Nico said

"Cool!"

**Nico looked at me. "Ready?"**

**He'd barely tapped the door when it swung open.**

"**Luke!" the old lady cried happily.**

**She looked like someone who enjoyed sticking her fingers in electrical sockets. Her white hair stuck out in tufts all over her head. Her pink housedress was covered in scorch marks and smears of ash. When she smiled, her face looked unnaturally stretched, and the high-voltage light in her eves made me wonder if she was blind.**

Hades hated this, so he did something that was completely unlike him

"I'm sorry, this is entirely my fault!" He blurted and his hand suddenly went to his mouth

Apollo and Hermes looked confused "what do you mean!" they asked

"You'll find out in the book!" Percy answered before Hades could

This time Hades was confused

"**Oh, my dear boy!" She hugged Nico. I was trying to figure out why she thought Nico was Luke (they looked absolutely nothing alike), when she smiled at me and said, "Luke!"**

**She forgot all about Nico and gave me a hug. She smelled like burned cookies. She was as thin as a scarecrow, but that didn't stop her from almost crushing me.**

"Oh no! She's a lot worse!" Hermes said as Apollo patted his back

He got looks of sympathy from most of the people in the room

"**Come in!" she insisted. "I have your lunch ready!"**

**She ushered us inside. The living room was even weirder than the front lawn. Mirrors and candles filled every available space. I couldn't look anywhere without seeing my own reflection. Above the mantel, a little bronze Hermes flew around the second hand of a ticking clock. I tried to imagine the god of messengers ever falling in love with this old woman, but the idea was too bizarre.**

"She wasn't always like this! She used to be so beautiful, and to my eyes she still is" Hermes announced loudly

The goddess and girls cooed

**Then I noticed the framed picture on the mantel, and I froze. It was exactly like Rachel's sketch-Luke around nine years old, with blond hair and a big smile and two missing teeth. The lack of a scar on his face made him look like a different person-carefree and happy. How could Rachel have known about that picture?**

"Two words Ora-cle!" Apollo said trying to lighten the mood

"Idiot! That's one word!" Artemis slapped him

"I know that!"

"Then why'd you say it!"

"Just!"

"**This way, my dear!" Ms. Castellan steered me toward the back of the house. "Oh, I told them you would come back. I knew it!"**

**She sat us down at the kitchen table. Stacked on the counter were hundreds-I mean hundreds-of Tupperware boxes with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches inside. The ones on the bottom were green and fuzzy, like they'd been there for a long time. The smell reminded me of my sixth grade locker-and that's not a good thing.**

"You know what, after this chapter I'm gonna go visit her, and maybe I can help!" Apollo assured

"Thanks Pollo!" Hermes said

**On top of the oven was a stack of cookie sheets. Each one had a dozen burned cookies on it. In the sink was a mountain of empty plastic Kool-Aid pitchers. A beanbag Medusa sat by the faucet like she was guarding the mess.**

"I am the best! Woo! I fought medusa and her sisters woo!" Percy cheered, praising himself

Annabeth and Poseidon paled "What the Gorgons! You fought the gorgons!" They asked

"Err…yeah! But don't worry Hazel and Frank helped me out!"

Annabeth and Poseidon looked at Frank and Hazel gratefully who smiled back

**Ms. Castellan started humming as she got out peanut butter and jelly and started making a new sandwich. Something was burning in the oven. I got the feeling more cookies were on the way.**

**Above the sink, taped all around the window, were dozens of little pictures cut from magazines and newspaper ads-pictures of Hermes from the FTD Flowers logo and Quickie Cleaners, pictures of the caduceus from medical ads.**

"She really must love you Hermes!" Aphrodite said

"Yeah, and I love her too!" Hermes admitted

**My heart sank. I wanted to get out of that room, but Ms. Castellan kept smiling at me as she made the sandwich, like she was making sure I didn't bolt.**

**Nico coughed. "Urn, Ms. Castellan?"**

"**Mm?"**

"**We need to ask you about your son."**

"**Oh, yes! They told me he would never come back. But I knew better." She patted my cheek affectionately, giving me peanut butter racing stripes.**

"She still thinks you are Luke!" Leo said, he was confused they looked nothing alike

"**When did you last see him?" Nico asked.**

**Her eyes lost focus.**

"**He was so young when he left," she said wistfully. "Third grade. That's too young to run away! He said he'd be back for lunch. And I waited. He likes peanut butter sandwiches and cookies and Kool-Aid. He'll be back for lunch very soon. . . ." Then she looked at me and smiled. "Why, Luke, there you are! You look so handsome. You have your father's eyes."**

TG and the HoO Demigods were shocked, _what had happened to this poor woman?_

While the rest of them looked sad

**She turned toward the pictures of Hermes above the sink. "Now, there's a good man. Yes, indeed. He comes to visit me, you know."**

**The clock kept ticking in the other room. I wiped the peanut butter off my face and looked at Nico pleadingly, like Can we get out of here now?**

"I know, I wouldn't want to stay with that women either" Edward said

Everyone glared in his direction

"Edward, have a heart, aren't you worried about what happened to this poor old lady" Bella said

Jacob snorted and Muttered, "How can he, he hasn't got a heart,"

Edward hissed and glared in Jake's direction

"Shut it mutt!" He said

"Make me!"

Both of them were rising from their seats, everyone was very tense because they knew a fight would start but fortunately, Reyna and Bella pulled them both down

"**Ma'am," Nico said. "What, uh . . . what happened to your eyes?"**

**Her gaze seemed fractured-like she was trying to focus on him through a kaleidoscope. "Why, Luke, you know the story. It was right before you were born, wasn't it? I'd always been special, able to see through the . . . whatever-they-call-it."**

"**The Mist?" I said.**

"Woo hoo! The mist rules!" Percy said cheerfully

"Err….Percy…..Are you ok?" Thalia asked

"Yeah fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"You're acting way too happy for my liking!"

Percy wouldn't meet her gaze, Annabeth spotted several chocolate wrappers by the arm of his couch.

"Percy, not again!" Annabeth sighed and got up and cleared the wrappers up and took the chocolate he was hiding behind his back

"What happened?" Esme asked

"let's just say, Percy won't be having anymore chocolate for a long long time!"

"**Yes, dear." She nodded encouragingly. "And they offered me an important job. That's how special I was!"**

**I glanced at Nico, but he looked as confused as I was.**

"**What sort of job?" I asked. "What happened?"**

**Ms. Castellan frowned. Her knife hovered over the sandwich bread. "Dear me, it didn't work out, did it? Your father warned me not to try. He said it was too dangerous. But I had to. It was my destiny! And now . . . I still can't get the images out of my head. They make everything seem so fuzzy. **

"Wait, did she try out for the oracle!" Piper guessed,

Aphrodite smiled at her for working it out, while Athena was shocked, '_she's a daughter of Aphrodite, and she's clever?'_ Athena thought

"Yeah, but something happened, it didn't work and now it left her like this," Apollo explained

"How came Rachel was able too!" Jason asked

"Lets say, Hades's apology has a lot to do with this and it has a lot the do with Nico too!" Percy said

**Would you like some cookies?"**

**She pulled a tray out of the oven and dumped a dozen lumps of chocolate chip charcoal on the table.**

"**Luke was so kind," Ms. Castellan murmured. "He left to protect me, you know. He said if he went away, the monsters wouldn't threaten me. But I told him the monsters are no threat! They sit outside on the sidewalk all day, and they never come in." She picked up the little stuffed Medusa from the windowsill. "Do they, Mrs. Medusa? No, no threat at all." She beamed at me. "I'm so glad you came home. I knew you weren't ashamed of me!"**

"She's herself one second but then shifts into…." Jasper trailed off

Everyone nodded like they understood

**I shifted in my seat. I imagined being Luke sitting at this table, eight or nine years old, and just beginning to realize that my mother wasn't all there.**

"**Ms. Castellan," I said.**

"**Mom," she corrected.**

"**Um, yeah. Have you seen Luke since he left home?"**

"**Well, of course!"**

TG and the Olympians looked confused

'_Why would Luke visit?' _Athena thought

**I didn't know if she was imagining that or not. For all I knew, every time the mailman came to the door he was Luke. But Nico sat forward expectantly.**

"**When?" he asked. "When did Luke visit you last?"**

"**Well, it was . . . Oh goodness . . ." A shadow passed across her face. "The last time, he looked so different. A scar. A terrible scar, and his voice so full of pain . . ."**

"Why would Luke visit her?" Aphrodite asked

"You'll find out soon!" Nico said

"**His eyes," I said. "Were they gold?"**

"**Gold?" She blinked. "No. How silly. Luke has blue eyes. Beautiful blue eyes!"**

**So Luke really had been here, and this had happened before last summer-before he'd turned into Kronos.**

"This was my fault!" Annabeth whispered

"No it's not! Thalia said

"He asked me to help him, I didn't!" Annabeth said in undertone to Thalia

"Don't blame yourself!"

"**Ms. Castellan?" Nico put his hand on the old woman's arm. "This is very important. Did he ask you for anything?"**

**She frowned as if trying to remember. "My-my blessing. Isn't that sweet?" She looked at us uncertainly. "He was going to a river, and he said he needed my blessing. I gave it to him. Of course I did."**

"Wait a second, a river! Achilles!" Aphrodite gasped

"So that's what Nico is taking Percy to do!" Leo realized

"Huh? Where is he taking him?" Alice asked

"He's taking him to the river Styx to bathe, so he is invincible like Achilles!" Annabeth explained

Nico nodded nervously, he wasn't worried about the Achilles thing but with his father, when he locked Percy up

**Nico looked at me triumphantly. "Thank you, ma'am. That's all the information we-"**

**Ms. Castellan gasped. She doubled over, and her cookie tray clattered to the floor. Nico and I jumped to our feet.**

"**Ms. Castellan?" I said.**

"**AHHHH," She straightened. I scrambled away and almost fell over the kitchen table, because her eyes-her eyes were glowing green.**

"What's happening?" Poseidon asked

"She should have been the oracle, since it wasn't working all she will do is suffer, like if Rachel hadn't took its place then she would too." Apollo explained in a soft and sad voice

"**My child," she rasped in a much deeper voice. "Must protect him! Hermes, help! Not my child! Not his fate-no!"**

**She grabbed Nico by the shoulders and began to shake him as if to make him understand. "Not his fate!"**

"What does she mean by fate?" Alice

"She means, when he is Kronos!" Athena explained

**Nico made a strangled scream and pushed her away. He gripped the hilt of his sword. "Percy, we need to get out-"**

**Suddenly Ms. Castellan collapsed. I lurched forward and caught her before she could hit the edge of the table. I managed to get her into a chair.**

"Thanks for that Percy!" Hermes said happy Percy had caught her

"No Probs cuz!"

"**Ms. C?" I asked.**

**She muttered something incomprehensible and shook her head. "Goodness. I . . . I dropped the cookies. How silly of me."**

**She blinked, and her eyes were back to normal-or at least, what they had been before. The green glow was gone.**

"So she's like me! I don't realize I'm having a vision or giving a prophecy!" Rachel said

"When I have a vision, I just freeze and stare into space!" Alice said

"At least yours are lot more normal, when I give a prophecy, there's this green mist around me!" Rachel said

"**Are you okay?" I asked.**

"**Well, of course, dear. I'm fine. Why do you ask?"**

**I glanced at Nico, who mouthed the word Leave.**

"**Ms. C, you were telling us something," I said. "Something about your son."**

"**Was I?" she said dreamily. "Yes, his blue eyes. We were talking about his blue eyes. Such a handsome boy!"**

"See now she's talking about Luke like he's not there when before she referred to Percy as Luke!" Leo said

"Way too state the obvious Leo!" Piper rolled her eyes

"**We have to go," Nico said urgently. "We'll tell Luke . . . uh, we'll tell him you said hello."**

"**But you can't leave!" Ms. Castellan got shakily to her feet, and I backed away. I felt silly being scared of a frail old woman, but the way her voice had changed, the way she'd grabbed Nico . . .**

"Yeah! I was terrified!" Nico said

"**Hermes will be here soon," she promised. "He'll want to see his boy!"**

"**Maybe next time," I said. "Thank you for-" I looked down at the burned cookies scattered on the floor. "Thanks for everything."**

**She tried to stop us, to offer us Kool-Aid, but I had to get out of that house. On the front porch, she grabbed my wrist and I almost jumped out of my skin. "Luke, at least be safe. Promise me you'll be safe."**

"**I will . . . Mom."**

"That would have made her happy, even if you aren't Luke!" Thalia said

**That made her smile. She released my wrist, and as she closed the front door, I could hear her talking to the candles: "You hear that? He will be safe. I told you he would be!"**

**As the door shut, Nico and I ran. The little beanbag animals on the sidewalk seemed to grin at us as we passed.**

"Ok! That would be creepy!" Emmet said

**Back at the cliff, Mrs. O'Leary had found a friend.**

**A cozy campfire crackled in a ring of stones. A girl about eight years old was sitting cross-legged next to Mrs. O'Leary, scratching the hellhound's ears.**

Hestia smiled; maybe she could give the Demigods assistance

**The girl had mousy brown hair and a simple brown dress. She wore a scarf over her head so she looked like a pioneer kid-like the ghost of Little House on the Prairie or something. She poked the fire with a stick, and it seemed to glow more richly red than a normal fire.**

Like she wore know, but she was in her normal form

"Wait, it that Lady Hestia!" Jacob said

"Yes!"

"**Hello," she said.**

**My first thought was: monster. **

"Percy!" Annabeth said palmed facing

**When you're a demigod and you find a sweet little girl alone in the woods-that's typically a good time to draw your sword and attack. Plus, the encounter with Ms. Castellan had rattled me pretty bad.**

"True, he does have a point!" Leo said

"Actually, Percy was correct on becoming defensive, I could have been anyone!" Hestia said

**But Nico bowed to the little girl. "Hello again, Lady."**

**She studied me with eyes as red as the firelight. I decided it was safest to bow.**

"**Sit, Percy Jackson," she said. "Would you like some dinner?**

"Can I have some dinner?" Leo asked

"Later!" Hera said

**After staring at moldy peanut butter sandwiches and burned cookies, I didn't have much of an appetite, but the girl waved her hand and a picnic appeared at the edge of the fire. There were plates of roast beef, baked potatoes, buttered carrots, fresh bread, and a whole bunch of other foods I hadn't had in a long time. My stomach started to rumble. It was the kind of home-cooked meal people are supposed to have but never do. The girl made a five-foot-long dog biscuit appear for Mrs. O'Leary, who happily began tearing it to shreds.**

The Demigod boys and Wolves stomachs grumbled

"Can't we eat now?" Jacob groaned

"At the End of the chapter!" Hera promised

**I sat next to Nico. We picked up our food, and I was about to dig in when I thought better of it.**

**I scraped part of my meal into the flames, the way we do at camp. "For the gods," I said.**

**The little girl smiled. "Thank you. As tender of the flame, I get a share of every sacrifice, you know."**

'_I should do that every time and then maybe I can have anything I want'_ Embry and Quil thought

"No, you can't!" Hermes told the two wolves

Jacob snickered

"**I recognize you now," I said. "The first time I came to camp, you were sitting by the fire, in the middle of the commons area."**

"**You did not stop to talk," the girl recalled sadly. "Alas, most never do. Nico talked to me. He was the first in many years. Everyone rushes about. No time for visiting family."**

"I'm glad you talked to me Nico!" Hestia smiled at him and he grinned back

"**You're Hestia," I said. "Goddess of the Hearth."**

**She nodded.**

**Okay . . . so she looked eight years old. I didn't ask. I'd learned that gods could look any way they pleased.**

"**My lady," Nico asked, "why aren't you with the other Olympians, fighting Typhon?"**

"Fighting isn't my type of thing!" Hestia said

"**I'm not much for fighting." Her red eyes flickered. I realized they weren't just reflecting the flames. They were filled with flames-but not like Ares's eyes. Hestia's eyes were warm and cozy.**

"Yeah, Ares Eyes were filled with fear and Death, but Hestia's reminded me of home!" Percy said glaring at Ares and smiling at Hestia

"**Besides," she said, "someone has to keep the home fires burning while the other gods are away."**

"**So you're guarding Mount Olympus?" I asked.**

"**'Guard' may be too strong a word. But if you ever need a warm place to sit and a home-cooked meal, you are welcome to visit. Now eat."**

"I thought that was Hera's job!" Leo said

"No, Hera's is being the mother!" Annabeth said so Hera couldn't hear her

"Uh huh!" Leo said not really understanding

What was the difference in someone giving you a home cooked meal and a Mother?

**My plate was empty before I knew it. Nico scarfed his down just as fast.**

"**That was great," I said. "Thank you, Hestia."**

**She nodded. "Did you have a good visit with May Castellan?"**

**For a moment, I'd almost forgotten the old lady with her bright eyes and her maniacal smile, the way she'd suddenly seemed possessed.**

"Not possessed. scared. scared for her son!" Hestia said sadly

"Can ask you Demigods a question, is Luke alive?" Hermes asked

"No, I'm sorry, he's dead!" Annabeth said in a small voice

"But did he die a good man!" Apollo asked

"You'll find out at the end!"

"**What's wrong with her, exactly?" I asked.**

"**She was born with a gift," Hestia said. "She could see through the Mist."**

"**Like my mother," I said. And I was also thinking, Like Rachel "But the glowing eyes thing-"**

"**Some bear the curse of sight better than others," the goddess said sadly. "For a while, May Castellan had many talents. She attracted the attention of Hermes himself. They had a beautiful baby boy. For a brief time, she was happy. And then she went too far."**

"I told, I told it was risky, but she wouldn't listen, she had always been the adventurous type!" Hermes said

**I remembered what Ms. Castellan had said: They offered me an important job . . . It didn't work out. I wondered what kind of job left you like that.**

"**One minute she was all happy," I said. "And then she was freaking out about her son's fate, like she knew he'd turned into Kronos. What happened to . . . to divide her like that?"**

"I was confused too, I didn't know what too think, and she was creeping me out!" Nico said

**The goddess's face darkened. "That is a story I do not like to tell. But May Castellan saw too much. If you are to understand your enemy Luke, you must understand his family."**

"That is a very vital point Hestia, I'm kind of glad you are helping them!" Athena said nodding at her aunt

"My pleasure niece, I try to help the best I can!" Hestia replied

**I thought about the sad little pictures of Hermes taped above May Castellan's sink. I wondered if Ms. Castellan had been so crazy when Luke was little. That green-eyed fit could've seriously scared a nine-year-old kid. And if Hermes never visited, if he'd left Luke alone with his mom all those years . . .**

"**No wonder Luke ran away," I said. "I mean, it wasn't right to leave his mom like that, but still-he was just a kid. Hermes shouldn't have abandoned them."**

Hermes looked upset

"I'm sorry Hermes; I don't mean that, now I've found out that you never did abandon them!" Percy apologized

**Hestia scratched behind Mrs. O'Leary's ears. The hellhound wagged her tail and accidentally knocked over a tree.**

"**It's easy to judge others," Hestia warned. "But will you follow Luke's path? Seek the same powers?"**

**Nico set down his plate. "We have no choice, my lady. It's the only way Percy stands a chance."**

"I'm worried about how much it will hurt you, I know you lived but I hated imagining you in any pain!" Poseidon said

"**Mmm." Hestia opened her hand and the fire roared. Flames shot thirty feet into the air. Heat slapped me in the face. Then the fire died back down to normal.**

"**Not all powers are spectacular." Hestia looked at me. "Sometimes the hardest power to master is the power of yielding. Do you believe me?"**

"**Uh-huh," I said. Anything to keep her from messing with her flame powers again.**

"Percy! You didn't even listen to her, you just didn't want her too raise her flames again!" Annabeth said and Thalia palm faced

**The goddess smiled. "You are a good hero, Percy Jackson. Not too proud. I like that. But you have much to learn. When Dionysus was made a god, I gave up my throne for him. It was the only way to avoid a civil war among the gods."**

"But that's unfair, and sexist!" Bella complained

"We can't help it, Men take charge in everything, There's Hu**MAN**, History= **his story**, fe**MALE**." Reyna said **(No offence, to any boys reading this, I just needed to get my point across#) **

Bella stared a Reyna blankly as a million thoughts ran through her head, which Aphrodite noted to make sure her plan was working

_Why the hell is she talking to me? Is she trying show she's cleverer? Because of Her Jake won't speak to me, and now she trying to put me down! Stupid Bitch! _

Aphrodite almost squealed, this was working out so well, it was too good to be true, but on the bad side, She was making Bella hate Reyna for no reason, Something had too be done

"**It unbalanced the Council," I remembered. "Suddenly there were seven guys and five girls."**

**Hestia shrugged. "It was the best solution, not a perfect one. Now I tend the fire. I fade slowly into the background. No one will ever write epic poems about the deeds of Hestia. Most demigods don't even stop to talk to me. But that is no matter. I keep the peace. I yield when necessary. Can you do this?"**

"Lady Hestia, when we get back, I will write a poem about you and publish it for the world to see!" Alice vowed

"Thank you Alice!"

"**I don't know what you mean."**

**She studied me. "Perhaps not yet. But soon. Will you continue your quest?"**

"**Is that why you're here-to warn me against going?"**

**Hestia shook her head. "I am here because when all else fails, when all the other mighty gods have gone off to war, I am all that's left. Home. Hearth. I am the last Olympian. You must remember me when you face your final decision.**

"Oh, I get the title now, Hestia is the important one, the one who would remain behind and help out only with words!" Leo said

"Wow! Leo, that was actually smart!" Piper said and Jason laughed

"Hey, I'm not like Percy, I can be smart!"

"Hey!" Percy said

**I didn't like the way she said final.**

**I looked at Nico, then back at Hestia's warm glowing eyes. "I have to continue, my lady. I have to stop Luke . . . I mean Kronos."**

**Hestia nodded. "Very well. I cannot be of much assistance, beyond what I have already told you. But since you sacrificed to me, I can return you to your own hearth. I will see you again, Percy, on Olympus."**

"why would you go to Olympus if, we aren't there!" Zeus asked

"You'll see!" Percy said and everyone who didn't know got annoyed

**Her tone was ominous, as though our next meeting would not be happy.**

**The goddess waved her hand, and everything faded.**

**Suddenly I was home. Nico and I were sitting on the couch in my mom's apartment on the Upper East Side. That was the good news. The bad news was that the rest of the living room was occupied by Mrs. O'Leary.**

"Imagine how terrified you're Mum and Paul must have felt!" Nico laughed

"Who's Paul?" Poseidon asked

"My Stepdad and English teacher!" Percy said

**I heard a muffled yell from the bedroom. Paul's voice said, "Who put this wall of fur in the doorway?"**

"**Percy?" my mom called out. "Are you here? Are you all right?"**

"**I'm here!" I shouted back.**

"**WOOF!" Mrs. O'Leary tried to turn in a circle to find my mom, knocking all the pictures off the walls. She's only met my mom once before (long story), but she loves her.**

"Can you tell us that Story?" Leo asked

"No! now is not the time!"

**It took a few minutes, but we finally got things worked out. After destroying most of the furniture in the living room and probably making our neighbors really mad, we got my parents out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, where we sat around the kitchen table. Mrs. O'Leary still took up the entire living room, but she'd settled her head in the kitchen doorway so she could see us, which made her happy. My mom tossed her a ten-pound family-size tube of ground beef, which disappeared down her gullet. Paul poured lemonade for the rest of us while I explained about our visit to Connecticut.**

"Can I please have your mum?" Nico said jokingly

"No! because she's mine and I love her!" Percy said

The Goddess and girls cooed

Artemis looked shocked and Hera looked pleased

"**So it's true." Paul stared at me like he'd never seen me before. He was wearing his white bathrobe, now covered in hellhound fur, and his salt-and-pepper hair was sticking up in every direction. "All the talk about monsters, and being a demigod . . . it's really true."**

**I nodded. Last fall I'd explained to Paul who I was. My mom had backed me up. But until this moment, I don't think he really believed us.**

"People, don't take your word for it if there's no proof!"

"**Sorry about Mrs. O'Leary," I said, "destroying the living room and all."**

**Paul laughed like he was delighted. "Are you kidding? This is awesome! I mean, when I saw the hoof prints on the Prius, I thought maybe. But this!"**

**He patted Mrs. O'Leary's snout. The living room shook-BOOM, BOOM, BOOM-which either meant a SWAT team, was breaking down the door or Mrs. O'Leary was wagging her tail.**

"I'll go with Mrs. O'Leary wagging her tail!" Emmet Said

"Well, I go with the SWAT team!" Leo argued

**I couldn't help but smile. Paul was a pretty cool guy, even if he was my English teacher as well as my stepdad.**

"**Thanks for not freaking out," I said.**

"**Oh, I'm freaking out," he promised, his eyes wide. "I just think it's awesome!"**

"What's how I felt, I wasn't freaking out, but I still thought it was awesome!" Nico said

"I recall remembering Nico dancing like he needed the restroom!" Thalia said

Everyone started laughing

"I was not!" Nico denied red in the face

"Err…yeah you were Nicky!" Percy said ruffling his hair

"**Yeah, well," I said, "you may not be so excited when you hear what's happening."**

**I told Paul and my mom about Typhon, and the gods, and the battle that was sure to come. Then I told them Nico's plan.**

**My mom laced her fingers around her lemonade glass. She was wearing her old blue flannel bathrobe, and her hair was tied back. Recently she'd started writing a novel, like she'd wanted to do for years, and I could tell she'd been working on it late into the night, because the circles under her eyes were darker than usual.**

"She's writing a novel?" Athena said surprised, she had always liked Sally but this was different

"Yeah! Since this was too years ago, it's been published and released!" Annabeth said proudly

Athena looked surprised but proud at the same time

**Behind her at the kitchen window, silvery moon lace glowed in the flower box. I'd brought the magical plant back from Calypso's island last summer, and it bloomed like crazy under my mother's care. The scent always calmed me down, but it also made me sad because it reminded me of lost friends.**

"You went to Calypso's island, honestly where haven't been!" Poseidon said

"Err…I haven't been to…Tartarus!" Percy said

"let's hope you never go there!" Poseidon said

**My mom took a deep breath, like she was thinking how to tell me no.**

"Oh, she's so sweet, she doesn't ant to say no to you!" Esme cooed

"I know, I wish she could come here!" Rosalie said

"**Percy, it's dangerous," she said. "Even for you."**

"**Mom, I know. I could die. Nico explained that. But if we don't try-"**

"**We'll all die," Nico said. He hadn't touched his lemonade. "Ms. Jackson, we don't stand a chance against an invasion. And there will be an invasion."**

"Yeah, I'd rather one tries and survives then all of them dying!" Hades said

"But if we all died wouldn't that be more for your kingdom!" Emmet said

"No, the underworld is so full of souls that, I'm running out of space!" Hades said

"**An invasion of New York?" Paul said. "Is that even possible? How could we not see the . . . the monsters?"**

**He said the word like he still couldn't believe this was real.**

"**I don't know," I admitted. "I don't see how Kronos could just march into Manhattan, but the Mist is strong. Typhon is trampling across the country right now, and mortals think he's a storm system."**

"**Ms. Jackson," Nico said, "Percy needs your blessing. The process has to start that way. I wasn't sure until we met Luke's mom, but now I'm positive. This has only been done successfully twice before. Both times, the mother had to give her blessing. She had to be willing to let her son take the risk."**

"Yes, a mother's blessing is very important and I think that is what saved him!" Hestia said

"She's a better mother that Hera," Thalia muttered under her breath so only the demigods could hear

"Too bad, you pledged never to marry Hestia; you would have made a great wife and Mother!" Hephaestus said

Hestia smiled at him in return

Aphrodite's mouth dropped open, he preferred Hestia over her; she wasn't the best wife but still

"**You want me to bless this?" She shook her head. "It's crazy. Percy, please-"**

"**Mom, I can't do it without you."**

"**And if you survive this . . . this process?"**

"**Then I go to war," I said. "Me against Kronos. And only one of us will survive."**

**I didn't tell her the whole prophecy-about the soul reaping and the end of my days. She didn't need to know that I was probably doomed. I could only hope I'd stop Kronos and save the rest of the world before I died.**

"Percy have you ever put yourself before someone else!" Alice asked

"Yeah!" Percy said

"When?" Thalia said raising an eyebrow

"I put myself before monsters!"

"That doesn't count seaweed brain!"

"**You're my son," she said miserably. "I can't just . . ."**

**I could tell I'd have to push her harder if I wanted her to agree, but I didn't want to. I remembered poor Ms. Castellan in her kitchen, waiting for her son to come home. And I realized how lucky I was. My mom had always been there for me, always tried to make things normal for me, even with the gods and monsters and stuff. She put up with me going off on adventures, but now I was asking her blessing to do something that would probably get me killed.**

"That not very easy to cope with is it!"

**I locked eyes with Paul, and some kind of understanding passed between us.**

"**Sally." He put his hand over my mother's hands. "I can't claim to know what you and Percy have been going through all these years. But it sounds to me . . . it sounds like Percy is doing something noble. I wish I had that much courage."**

**I got a lump in my throat. I didn't get compliments like that too much.**

"I'll make sure I compliment you always Percy!" Nico promised

"No!" Percy held his hands over his ears like a child

**My mom stared at her lemonade. She looked like she was trying not to cry. I thought about what Hestia had said, about how hard it was to yield, and I figured maybe my mom was finding that out.**

"**Percy," she said, "I give you my blessing."**

**I didn't feel any different. No magic glow lit the kitchen or anything.**

"Maybe it hasn't worked!" Leo said

"Then explain why Percy is sitting in front of us!" Piper challenged

"Well, he could have lied abut getting the Achilles thing, he also fed Nico a forgetful potion so he thought Percy has took a dip in the Styx!" Leo said crazily

"So Kronos dropped dead of his own accord, did he?" Piper asked

Leo had no answer

**I glanced at Nico.**

**He looked more anxious than ever, but he nodded. "It's time."**

"**Percy," my mom said. "One last thing. If you . . . if you survive this fight with Kronos, send me a sign." She rummaged through her purse and handed me her cell phone.**

"**Mom," I said, "you know demigods and phones-"**

"**I know," she said. "But just in case. If you're not able to call . . . maybe a sign that, I could see from anywhere in Manhattan. To let me know you're okay."**

"Like Theseus did," Carlisle said

"But he forgot and his dad jumped off the palace!" Emmet added

"**Like Theseus," Paul suggested. "He was supposed to raise white sails when he came home to Athens."**

"**Except he forgot," Nico muttered. "And his father jumped off the palace roof in despair. But other than that, it was a great idea."**

Everyone started laughing, Nico and Emmet High-fived

"**What about a flag or a flare?" my mom said. "From Olympus-the Empire State Building."**

"**Something blue," I said.**

**We'd had a running joke for years about blue food. It was my favorite color, and my mom went out of her way to humor me. Every year my birthday cake, my Easter basket, my Christmas candy canes always had to be blue.**

"Why blue? Blue is my color!" Zeus whined

"Calm down brother, it's just a color!" Poseidon said

"**Yes," my mom agreed. "I'll watch for a blue signal. And I'll try to avoid jumping off palace roofs."**

**She gave me one last hug. I tried not to feel like I was saying good-bye. I shook hands with Paul. Then Nico and I walked to the kitchen doorway and looked at Mrs. O'Leary.**

"**Sorry, girl," I said. "Shadow travel time again."**

**She whimpered and crossed her paws over her snout.**

"**Where now?" I asked Nico. "Los Angeles?"**

"**No need," he said. "There's a closer entrance to the Underworld."**

"Finished." Hephaestus said

"Let's go everyone! Dinner!" Hera said

Before anyone could move or even think, there was a bright white light and a teenage boy fell from the sky.

**Sooooooooooo, what do you think? Who do you think it is? **

**I'd like to thank all those who have reviewed, added my story to favourites and alert, I love you guys, you make me feel special **

**Please review,**

**Maleena xxxxxxxxxxxx**


	9. Chapter 9: Harry Black and math teacher

**A/n: disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize**

**This is a very long chapter, the reading doesn't start until half way, and I sorry I didn't mention this in the last chapter but, the boys is an OC of mine, so sorry, I hope you like my theory of imprinting and the Back story, For Harry (the OC), about where he is from. Finally thank you so much for the reviews and Help, and ADVICE, I'll make sure I'll keep an eye on my grammar AND m exclaimation marks thanks! ;)**

**A/n2: If you like Edward a lot, then this might be uncomfortable to read because he is very OOC, and one more thing there will be a lot of P.o.v changes so keep an eye out**

Bella's p.o.v

We all stared at the Teenage boy as he stared back at us, he was still on the floor, just looking, and as I looked at him better, I found that he was very familiar, he really reminded me of someone, he had short black hair, a dark tan, and memorable brown eyes, he was also quite muscular.

"Gods, he stinks like mutt!" Edward said wrinkling his nose and cutting off my thoughts

"Please explain who you are." Zeus stated,

The boy rose and brushed off his clothes, "Err…I'm Harry…Harry Black."

'_Black? Black? He must be related to Jake? Oh, know I remember who he reminded me of, he reminded me of Jake.'_ I thought painfully

"Wait, did you just say Black?" Quil asked thinking he hadn't heard correctly

"Yeah, I said Black, I'd also like to explain that I'm from the future and I know why I am here," Harry informed us

"Er…so are we, we're from the future too," Alice said

"Yeah I know that, though I'm from 22 years in the future, and I'm here because some of my family is." Harry said

"Who's your family?" Jacob asked, his eyes were wide

"The wolves" I said quietly but everyone still heard since they were magical or supernatural in one way or the other, everyone turned to me looking confused

Harry grinned at me "That's right Bella, the Wolves are my family, I'm Jacob's son, and Quil and Embry are my uncles!"

"My son?" Jacob squeaked with disbelief

"Yep, That's me, Harry Emmet Black!" Harry said

"Emmet? Why Emmet?" Emmet asked

"Err…don't ask me, Bella insisted to Dad that we should use your name!" Harry told us

"You still see Bella?" Edward said suspiciously, his face unreadable

"Well, yeah... sorta, but mainly over the phone, since she…." Harry trailed off

I slumped back dramatically in my chair, The way Harry had trailed off told me, this was it, I going to marry Edward and be changed, that's why I would never see any of my family again, and Jacob was gonna move on, marry and have children.

"And By the way, Dad, you are a hypocrite, I'm 16, you still don't let me take off my shirt, even in the house, but you're still doing at 16 and you too Uncles, it isn't fair!" Harry huffed, dragging me out from the my thoughts

"Err…sorry, but we do it all the time." Jake said as he and the wolves pulled on a shirt

I smiled to myself; at least Reyna didn't have anything to stare at. I looked over at Jake, Shit shit shit! He had pulled on Quil's shirt and since Quil was smaller than he was, it was tight and restrained at his muscles, making him look hotter, even worse for me and better for Reyna.

"Yeah sorry, I'm surprised we don't let you'" Embry said

"No probs Dad and Uncles, I was only teasing!" Harry waved it off

"So Harry, do you have a girlfriend?" Aphrodite asked

Harry turned red, and met nobody's eyes instead stared down at the ground

"Eeek! He does! Omg! You have to stay behind and tell me!" Aphrodite ordered

"Sure thing." He said, he said still blushing

"Came on everyone, Dinner time, it was nice meeting you Harry!" Hera said

"You too Queen Hera!" Harry bowed as we all left the room

No ones p.o.v

Athena and Aphrodite stayed behind to talk to Harry who looked super confident.

"So Harry spill, who's your mum!" Aphrodite said, she had only asked him that question to get him too stay behind and Athena knew this

"Bella," he said calmly, but his eyes twinkled

The two Goddesses mouths, dropped open,

"How?" Aphrodite exclaimed

"Yeah, we read breaking dawn and Bella was changed and gave birth to Renesme, who is half human and half vampire!" Athena said astounded

"Well, I'm from the future, the alternative Future, what would have happen if Bella had chosen Jake, and Renesme does exist only as a werewolf!" He explained

"But you said Bella speaks to you over the phone?" Athena remembered

"She does, Grandma Renee is very sick with cancer, I haven't seen Mum in four months, and it's just me, Dad and my Sisters, Mum does visit when she can, she's only coming back when Grandma Renee get's better, but since we are tied to the rez, we can't leave for too long!" Harry said

"Oh, that explains it, but what of Edward?" Aphrodite said

"He visits from time to time, Renesme, and My other sister Jasmine are spitting images of Mum, so Edward is particularly fond of them, he's not even worried about their smell because he insists they smell like Bella, but they hate him, they think he stinks, you know Vamps and Wolves aren't a good match." Harry began

"Wow! Ok, so, he ok with Bella marrying Jacob and having kids!" Aphrodite said

"Hell no, he Hates me and Dad, but doesn't mind my sisters that much, he keeps trying to get the girls and mum to move and leave dad, that fucking bastard thinks he could convince Bella to come back to him and even if she is 40 and married with 4 kids," Harry said

"Wow! He does not let go does he!" Aphrodite said with wide eyes, this story was going perfectly as she wanted it

"So you know Edward left for 6 years thinking Mum would miss him, but instead she gave birth to my sister Marina, the forth child, she's eight now," Harry continued

Athena laughed, "That's the perfect way too tell someone to back off, and say you don't want them!" she said

"Yeah, he even tried to hook up with another vamp at a party, to get mum jealous but mum was too captivated by dad to notice!"

"Aww! That is so romantic!"

"So, why are you here?" Athena asked

"So I can be born, Maleena sent me here so I could help get my parents together!"

"Cool! Another one helping us!" Aphrodite squealed

"Come on lets get back, everyone would be wondering where we are!" Athena said approached the door

Third person p.o.v

At the same time in the kitchen….

Bella felt like banging her head on the table several times, why was she so annoyed that Jake had moved on, why was she angry he had a son? She had been leading him on for so long, Didn't he finally deserve happiness?

Edward watched Bella's pained expression, and vowed something to himself, he would marry her, give her a child, and change her, she was his nobody else's, but his and Now Jacob's child had confirmed it, Jacob would move on and Edward didn't have to share her.

Emmet was confused, why would Bella suggest his name too a dog?

Rosalie was angry, as much a she loved Edward, she wished she could give Bella a human life, she glanced at Jacob, okay, maybe a normal as possible. And she would make sure Bella and Edward don't get married even if it were the last thing she did.

Carlisle and Esme were surprised but happy for Jacob, he had finally moved on

Jacob, was confused and shocked, he had finally moved on, he had a family, he still spoke to Bella?

Rosalie's p.o.v

I had to find out what they were talking about, I was pretty sure, it was not about Harry's girlfriend because that wouldn't have taken that long and why did they stay behind, couldn't he tell about his girlfriend in front of us. I've seen Athena and Aphrodite together a bit too much, and I don't think it's good if Goddess of Love and the Goddess of Wisdom were planning something. I rose from my seat, still lost in thought

"What's up Rosie?" Emmet asked

"Nothing, I just needed to tell Athena something." I lied quickly, I hated lying to Emmet, but I would tell him later,

out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward watching me

I hastily left the kitchen and began listening at the Throne Room door, thanks to my hearing I didn't have trouble hearing anything, I heard Harry say

"Yeah, he even tried to hook up with another vamp at a party, to get mum jealous but mum was too captivated by dad to notice!"

Who tried to hook up with another vampire? Surely not Jacob, this is so confusing, why can't Harry use names, it would make life a lot easier,

"Aww! That is so romantic!" I heard Aphrodite say

"So, why are you here?" Athena asked

"So, I can be born, Maleena sent me here so I could help get my parents together!"

Parents together? If Jacob was his dad…then who was his mum? Could it be one the Demigods or could it be Bella?

"Cool! Another one helping us!" Aphrodite squealed

Helping? What the hell does she mean by that?

"Come on lets get back, everyone would be wondering where we are!" Athena said her footsteps getting closer to the door.

'Oh shit!' I zoomed back to the kitchen and took my seat like nothing had happened

Finally, Athena, Aphrodite, and Harry came in; they took their seats at the table, which was now a huge long one

"So, who's your girlfriend?" Thalia asked as he filled his plate

"Her name's Leanne, you won't know her!" Harry said blushing red,

"Why did you go Athena?" Apollo said

"Oh, Aphrodite had something of mine!" answered Athena straight away,

Huh, she didn't even try, and she just lied so easily

"So Harry, who's your mum?" Alice asked

"Can't tell but it ends in Bella." He said smirking

My eyes buggered out, was I right, did Bella choose Jacob instead?

The wolves looked shocked, Emmet looked Surprised, Alice, Esme confused, and Edward looked angry while Carlisle and Jasper looked neutral but confused

"You're misunderstanding, her name's Rosabella." Harry said, still smirking,

How weird is that? The beginning of my Name and Bella's name

Edward looked relieved

"Forget that, So, Harry where did your parents meet," Aphrodite asked excitedly

"Oh, mum and Dad met at a store, she was crying because her Boyfriend was abusing her, so when Dad saw her, he imprinted!" Harry said,

Imprinted? Now I knew it wasn't Bella because Jacob had been by her so much then why hadn't he imprinted yet?

"I… I imprinted?" Jacob said in a terrified voice

Bella's p.o.v

I gave up hope, inside me was a small ounce of hope that the girl would be me, my name did end in Bella, but Jacob had imprinted, I had been around him so much, but he never had imprinted, so it couldn't be me,

"Don't worry Dad, she's an amazing person, she loves you, left her abusing boyfriend for you, and cooks enough for all the wolves, there are usually leftovers, even after 5th helpings from everyone, you practically loved her since the first day she met you!" Harry assured

I felt like crying, this was the type of things I used to do, now over 20 years later someone had replaced me, as I thought this, one thing came to mind, when I was changed I would miss crying.

Aww, that is adorable!" Aphrodite cooed dramatically putting her hand to her chest.

"I'm confused, something in my heart told me, Bella was the one, this Bella, and then how did I imprint!" Jacob said

Oh, thank the Gods, Jacob still cares about me, still loves me

"You see dad, your mind, and heart was a little confused, your wolf saw a _Bella _in your life, and thought she was the one, that's why you kept fighting for her, thinking about her constantly, never giving up even if she was Edward's. However, she was the wrong Bella, but when you saw Rosabella, Isabella was the past and nothing else mattered!" Harry explained in full

Everyone sat back and absorbed this knew found information,

I was in a trance; my mind was shouting things at me,

'_He moved on, he left me, he had found someone better, he had had enough of me, and he couldn't for me fight anymore!' _

Edward was beaming, but I was the opposite, I was devestated, how selfish am I? didn't I want Jacob happy?

No ones p.o.v

"Err…can I talk to Aphrodite, Athena and Harry alone please!" Jacob asked Zeus, he was truly confused

"Yes, go on!" Zeus said

The four left and came back after Harry had explained to Jacob that he was from an alterative universe and Jacob did not imprint on Renesme then'. He also explained that, what he said about the 'wrong Bella thing' was all fake, and once Isabella Swan had given her heart completely to Jacob is when he imprinted because she was finally all his. In addition, she had changed her name to Rosabella, but everyone still called her Bella.

When they had come back and sat down to eat again,

"Who are in your family Harry?" Hestia asked

"There's me, Mum, Dad, and my sisters, Renesme, she is 18 and has a temper like hell, Jasmine is 14, but she's a complete Tomboy, and Marina is 8, a spoilt brat, who has a weird obsession with boats!" Harry explained

"Are they coming too?" Percy asked, he couldn't wait to meet them

"Yeah, they are, Maleena said, she'll send them and the Uleys too!"

"The Uleys, Sam, and Emily's kids!" Embry guessed

"Yep, that's them!" Harry said

Later on in the Throne room, Poseidon turned to the correct page and read

"**I get a lift from my math teacher**!" He began

Percy cursed under his breath and Nico looked terrified

"Err…Dad…under any circumstances, you will not kill or harm Nico, or Hades, can you swear on the river Styx for that!" Percy said to Poseidon

Poseidon looked confused for a second and then swore on the river Styx then as thunder cackled through the sky

Nico smiled gratefully at Percy

**We emerged in Central Park just north of the Pond. Mrs. O'Leary looked pretty tired as she limped over to a cluster of boulders. She started sniffing around, and I was afraid she might mark her territory, but Nico said, "Its okay. She just smells the way home."**

**I frowned. "Through the rocks?"**

"**The Underworld has two major entrances," Nico said. **

"Two, what's the second one!" Annabeth asked

"You'll find out in a second!"

"**You know the one in L.A."**

"**Charon's ferry."**

**Nico nodded. "Most souls go that way, but there's a smaller path, harder to find. The Door of Orpheus."**

"**The dude with the harp."**

"It was a Lyre, Percy a Lyre!" Apollo rolled his eyes

"**Dude with the lyre," Nico corrected. "But yeah, him. He used his music to charm the earth and open a new path into the Underworld. He sang his way right into Hades's palace and almost got away with his wife's soul."**

"Almost, why is it always almost!" Leo complained

**I remembered the story. Orpheus wasn't supposed to look behind him when he was leading his wife back to the world, but of course, he did. It was one of those typical "and-so-they-died/the-end" stories that always made us feel warm and fuzzy.**

"Great sarcasm Perce!" Hermes laughed

"**So this is the Door of Orpheus." I tried to be impressed, but it still looked like a pile of rocks to me. "How does it open?"**

"**We need music," Nico said. "How's your singing?"**

"**Um, no. Can't you just, like, tell it to open? You're the son of Hades and all."**

"Why can't you sing Percy, you sing in the shower all the time!" Thalia said and the Greek demigods smirked

"**It's not so easy. We need music."**

**I was pretty sure if I tried to sing, all I would cause was an avalanche.**

"**I have a better idea." I turned and called, "GROVER!"**

"What could Grover do?" Leo asked

"Reed pipes, isn't it obvious!" Percy said

"Oh right!"

**We waited for a long time. Mrs. O'Leary curled up and took a nap. I could hear the crickets in the woods and an owl hooting. Traffic hummed along Central Park West. Horse hooves clopped down a nearby path, maybe a mounted police patrol. I was sure they'd love to find two kids hanging out in the park at one in the morning.**

"**It's no good," Nico said at last.**

"What's happened to Grover?" Thalia said

"Morpheus put him too sleep!" Percy said

**But I had a feeling. My empathy link was really tingling for the first time in months, which meant either a whole lot of people had suddenly switched on the Nature Channel, or Grover was close.**

**I shut my eyes and concentrated. Grover.**

"Oh, cool an empathy link!" Apollo said

**I knew he was somewhere in the park. Why couldn't I sense his emotions? All I got was a faint hum in the base of my skull.**

**Grover, I thought more insistently.**

**Hmm-hmmmm, something said.**

**An image came into my head. I saw a giant elm tree deep in the woods, well off the main paths. Gnarled roots laced the ground, making a kind of bed. Lying in it with his arms crossed and his eyes closed was a satyr. At first, I couldn't be sure it was Grover. He was covered in twigs and leaves, like he'd been sleeping there a long time. The roots seemed to be shaping themselves around him, slowly pulling him into the earth.**

"Why is he like that again?" Leo asked forgetting

"Ergh! I told you Leo, Morpheus!" Percy said

"Who's that?"

"The God of dreams, you should really research!"

**Grover, I said. Wake up.**

**Unnnh-zzzzz.**

**Dude, you're covered in dirt. Wake up!**

**Sleepy, his mind murmured.**

**FOOD, I suggested. PANCAKES!**

"Yeah, that would wake him up!" Nico sniggered

**His eyes shot open. A blur of thoughts filled my head like he was suddenly on fast-forward. The image shattered, and I almost fell over.**

"**What happened?" Nico asked.**

"**I got through. He's . . . yeah. He's on his way."**

**A minute later, the tree next to us shivered. Grover fell out of the branches, right on his head.**

Nico laughed, "thanks for the image Perce!"

"No probs Nico!"

"**Grover!" I yelled.**

"**Woof!" Mrs. O'Leary looked up, probably wondering if we were going to play fetch with the satyr.**

"**Blah-ha-ha!" Grover bleated.**

"**You okay, man?"**

"**Oh, I'm fine." He rubbed his head. His horns had grown so much they poked an inch above his curly hair. "I was at the other end of the park. The dryads had this great idea of passing me through the trees to get me here. They don't understand height very well."**

"Obviously, because they are so high!" Thalia said

**He grinned and got to his feet-well, his hooves, actually. Since last summer, Grover had stopped trying to disguise himself as human. He never wore a cap or fake feet anymore. He didn't even wear jeans, since he had furry goat legs from the waist down. His T-shirt had a picture from that book Where the Wild Things Are. It was covered with dirt and tree sap. His goatee looked fuller, almost manly (or goatly?), and he was as tall as me now.**

"**Good to see you, G-man," I said. "You remember Nico."**

**Grover nodded at Nico, and then he gave me a big hug. He smelled like fresh-mown lawns.**

"Okay, Grover has too act more manly, because hugging boys isn't a manly thing, unless you're gay!" Emmet said

"I agree, Emmet!" Nico said

"**Perrrrcy!" he bleated. "I missed you! I miss camp. They don't serve very good enchiladas in the wilderness."**

"**I was worried," I said. "Where've you been the last two months?"**

"**The last two-" Grover's smile faded. "The last two months? What are you talking about?"**

"**We haven't heard from you," I said. "Juniper's worried. We sent Iris-messages, but-"**

"He didn't know he was asleep?" Hazel said

"No, most Gods look like normal people!" Annabeth said

"**Hold on." He looked up at the stars like he was trying to calculate his position. "What month is this?"**

"**August."**

**The color drained from his face. "That's impossible. It's June. I just lay down to take a nap and . . ." He grabbed my arms. "I remember now! He knocked me out. Percy, we have to stop him!"**

"Grover, you could explain you know I hate guessing!" Thalia said

"Err…Thals; you're talking to a book!"

"Oh shut up Nico!"

"**Whoa," I said. "Slow down. Tell me what happened."**

**He took a deep breath. "I was . . . I was walking in the woods up by Harlem Meer. And I felt this tremble in the ground, like something powerful was near."**

"**You can sense stuff like that?" Nico asked.**

**Grover nodded. "Since Pan's death, I can feel when something is wrong in nature. It's like my ears and eyes are sharper when I'm in the Wild. Anyway, **

"I really wish Pan was still here, but I'm also glad it was Grover who is the lord of the wild!" Hermes said

**I started following the scent. This man in a long black coat was walking through the park, and I noticed he didn't cast a shadow. Middle of a sunny day, and he cast no shadow. He kind of shimmered as he moved."**

"**Like a mirage?" Nico asked.**

"**Yes," Grover said. "And whenever he passed humans-"**

"**The humans would pass out," Nico said. "Curl up and go to sleep."**

"Wow! He is powerful!" Leo said

"Well, duh…he's a minor God!" Piper said slapping him

"**That's right! Then after he was gone, they'd get up and go about their business like nothing happened."**

**I stared at Nico. "You know this guy in black?"**

"**Afraid so," Nico said. "Grover, what happened?"**

"**I followed the guy. He kept looking up at the buildings around the park like he was making estimates or something. This lady jogger ran by, and she curled up on the sidewalk and started snoring. The guy in black put his hand on her forehead like he was checking her temperature. **

"Why would he do that?" Athena said, thinking hard

**Then he kept walking. By this time, I knew he was a monster or something even worse. I followed him into this grove, to the base of a big elm tree. I was about to summon some dryads to help me capture him when he turned and . . ."**

**Grover swallowed. "Percy, his face. I couldn't make out his face because it kept shifting. Just looking at him made me sleepy. I said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'Just having a look around. You should always scout a battlefield before the battle.' **

"Battlefield? Battle? Oh no! The minor Gods are working with Kronos!" Athena realized

Zeus looked like he was ready to kill someone

**I said something really smart like, 'This forest is under my protection. You won't start any battles here!' And he laughed. He said, 'You're lucky I'm saving my energy for the main event, little satyr. I'll just grant you a short nap. Pleasant dreams.' And that's the last thing I remember."**

"Main event? What main event?" Athena said know thinking harder that ever, suddenly a small phrase from the prophecy came to her _'to see the world in endless sleep'_ Athena gasped, that was the main event, the war would take place, when Morpheus put everyone to sleep,

**Nico exhaled. "Grover, you met Morpheus, the God of Dreams. You're lucky you ever woke up."**

"**Two months," Grover moaned. "He put me to sleep for two months!"**

**I tried to wrap my mind around what this meant. Now it made sense why we hadn't been able to contact Grover all this time.**

"**Why didn't the nymphs try to wake you?" I asked.**

**Grover shrugged. "Most nymphs aren't good with time. Two months for a tree-that's nothing. They probably didn't think anything was wrong."**

"Except Juniper, she was looking for you like crazy!" Percy said

"**We've got to figure out what Morpheus was doing in the park," I said. "I don't like this 'main event' thing he mentioned."**

"**He's working for Kronos," Nico said. "We know that already. Many of the minor gods are. This just proves there's going to be an invasion. Percy, we have to get on with our plan."**

"**Wait," Grover said. "What plan?"**

**We told him, and Grover started tugging at his leg fur.**

"**You're not serious," he said. "Not the Underworld again."**

"Yeah, it's my third time going," Percy said

"What, Third! I thought it was your second!" Poseidon freaked out

"Err…yeah; I went there with Thalia and Nico to do a quest for Persephone!" Percy said

"You did a quest for Persephone?" Hades said

"Err…she lost something valuable and had us find it!" Thalia answered

"**I'm not asking you to come, man," I promised. "I know you just woke up. But we need some music to open the door. Can you do it?"**

**Grover took out his reed pipes. "I guess I could try. I know a few Nirvana tunes that can split rocks. But, Percy, are you sure you want to do this?"**

"**Please, man," I said. "It would mean a lot. For old times' sake?"**

"Didn't you almost die in old times?" Nico said

"Whatever Nico, I just said that to get Grover to use the red pipes!

**He whimpered. "As I recall, in the old times we almost died a lot. But okay, here goes nothing."**

"See, that's what I said!"

**He put his pipes to his lips and played a shrill, lively tune. The boulders trembled. A few more stanzas and they cracked open, revealing a triangular crevice.**

"Did the boulders open because it was music or because it was a boulder song?" Piper asked

"I think a bit of both!" Anabeth said

**I peered inside. Steps led down into the darkness. The air smelled of mildew and death. It brought back bad memories of my trip through the Labyrinth last year, but this tunnel felt even more dangerous. It led straight to the land of Hades, and that was almost always a one-way trip.**

**I turned to Grover. "Thanks . . . I think."**

"**Perrrrcy, is Kronos really going to invade?"**

"**I wish I could tell you better, but yeah. He will."**

"That's gonna make him anxious!" Thalia said

**I thought Grover might chew up his reed pipes in anxiety, but he straightened up and brushed off his T-shirt. I couldn't help thinking how different he looked from fat old Leneus. "I've got to rally the nature spirits, then. Maybe we can help. I'll see if we can find this Morpheus.'"**

"Maybe not then, Grover really has changed!"

"**Better tell Juniper you're okay, too."**

**His eyes widened. "Juniper! Oh, she's going to kill me!"**

"No, she runs to him and hugs him and then beats him up!" Annabeth said, that was exactly what happened

**He started to run off, then scrambled back and gave me another hug. "Be careful down there! Come back alive!"**

**Once he was gone, Nico and I roused Mrs. O'Leary from her nap.**

**When she smelled the tunnel, she got excited and led the way down the steps. It was a pretty tight fit. I hoped she wouldn't get stuck. I couldn't imagine how much Drano we'd need to un-stick a hellhound wedged halfway down a tunnel to the Underworld.**

"Percy, you fit humor and sarcasm into the most terrifying situations!" Annabeth shook her head

"That's me, one of a kind!" Percy said smugly

"**Ready?" Nico asked me. "It'll be fine. Don't worry."**

**He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.**

**I glanced up at the stars, wondering if I would ever see them again. Then we plunged into darkness.**

**The stairs went on forever narrow, steep, and slippery. It was completely dark except for the light of my sword. I tried to go slow, but Mrs. O'Leary had other ideas. She bounded ahead, barking happily. The sound echoed through the tunnel like cannon shots, and I figured we would not be catching anybody by surprise once we reached the bottom.**

"Well, obviously she's happy, she's home!"

**Nico lagged behind, which I thought was strange.**

"**You okay?" I asked him.**

"**Fine." What was that expression on his face . . . doubt? "Just keep moving," he said.**

"Please don't hate me Lord Poseidon!" Nico pleaded

"I swore I wouldn't hurt you, but why? Did you do something to Percy?" Poseidon said

"Dad! Just read, you'll find out soon!" Percy cut in

**I didn't have much choice. I followed Mrs. O'Leary into the depths. After another hour, I started to hear the roar of a river.**

**We emerged at the base of a cliff, on a plain of black volcanic sand. To our right, the River Styx gushed from the rocks and roared off in a cascade of rapids. To our left, far away in the gloom, fires burned on the ramparts of Erebos, the great black walls of Hades's kingdom.**

"I know, this may sound weird but I want to visit the underworld as much as I want to visit undersea, but no offence lord Zeus, it is truly beautiful up here!" Alice said

The big three smiled smugly

**I shuddered. I'd first been here when I was twelve, and only Annabeth and Grover's company had given me the courage to keep going. Nico wasn't going to be quite as helpful with the "courage" thing. He looked pale and worried himself.**

What's going on, what happened!" Annabeth said getting agitated

"You'll find out soon!" Percy said

**Only Mrs. O'Leary acted happy. She ran along the beach, picked up a random human leg bone, and romped back toward me. She dropped the bone at my feet and waited for me to throw it.**

"Aww! That's cute!"

"**Um, maybe later, girl." I stared at the dark waters, trying to get up my nerve. "So, Nico . . . how do we do this?"**

"**We have to go inside the gates first," he said.**

"Why do you have too see Hades first?" Annabeth asked, thinking the oath Poseidon had sworn, how bad could it be?

"**But the river's right here."**

"**I have to get something," he said. "It's the only way."**

**He marched off without waiting.**

**I frowned. Nico hadn't mentioned anything about going inside the gates. But now that we were here, I didn't know what else to do. Reluctantly, I followed him down the beach toward the big black gates.**

**Lines of the dead stood outside waiting to get in. It must've been a heavy day for funerals, because even the EZ-DEATH line was backed up.**

"See what I mean, the underworld is even worse in the future!" Hades complained

"**Woof!" Mrs. O'Leary said. Before I could stop her, she bounded toward the security checkpoint. Cerberus, the guard dog of Hades, appeared out of the gloom-a three-headed Rottweiler so big he made Mrs. O'Leary look like a toy poodle. Cerberus was half transparent, so he's really hard to see until he's close enough to kill you, but he acted like he didn't care about us. He was too busy saying hello to Mrs. O'Leary.**

"Yeah, he's actually our friend!" Annabeth said

"**Mrs. O'Leary, no!" I shouted at her. "Don't sniff . . . Oh, man."**

**Nico smiled. Then he looked at me and his expression turned all serious again, like he'd remembered something unpleasant. "Come on. They won't give us any trouble in the line. You're with me."**

"Can someone please explain what is going on?" Thalia said

**I didn't like it, but we slipped through the security ghouls and into the Fields of Asphodel. I had to whistle for Mrs. O'Leary three times before she left Cerberus alone and ran after us.**

**We hiked over black fields of grass dotted with black poplar trees. If I really died in a few days like the prophecy said, I might end up here forever, but I tried not to think about that.**

Thalia got up and slapped Percy on the head

"Ow! What was that for?" He complained, rubbing his head

"For not believing in yourself, you will not end up there, you are going to Elysium, and I will make sure of that." Thalia turns to glare at Hades

**Nico trudged ahead, bringing us closer and closer to the palace of Hades.**

"**Hey," I said, "we're inside the gates already. Where are we-?"**

**Mrs. O'Leary growled. A shadow appeared overhead-something dark, cold, and stinking of death. It swooped down and landed in the top of a poplar tree.**

"The furies."

**Unfortunately, I recognized her. She had a shriveled face, a horrible blue knit hat, and a crumpled velvet dress. Leathery bat wings sprang from her back. Her feet had sharp talons, and in her brass-clawed hands, she held a flaming whip and a paisley handbag.**

"**Mrs. Dodds," I said.**

**She bared her fangs. "Welcome back, honey."**

"She still hasn't dropped the Honey thing." Hades sighed

**Her two sisters-the other Furies-swooped down and settled next to her in the branches of the poplar.**

"**You know Alecto?" Nico asked me.**

"**If you mean the hag in the middle, yeah," I said. "She was my math teacher."**

**Nico nodded, like this didn't surprise him. He looked up at the Furies and took a deep breath. "I've done what my father asked. Take us to the palace."**

"WHAT!" Thalia screamed, "YOU TRICKED HIM!"

"No he didn't!" Percy tried to say

"YOU DID THAT, JUST TOO GET INFORMATION!" Thalia screeched

"Nico and Hades, if Percy hadn't made me swore then you two would have both been dead!" Poseidon said

Nico just dropped his head and Hades claimed he didn't know, because this was the future while half the Demigods lectured Nico

"EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP!" Percy yelled so loudly it almost made Olympus shake

Everyone shut up and looked at Percy

"This happened two years ago, I forgave Nico ok and I think you should too!" Percy said, everyone nodded some glared at Nico and Hades

**I tensed. "Wait a second, Nico. What do you-?"**

"**I'm afraid this is my new lead, Percy. My father promised me information about my family, but he wants to see you before we try the river. I'm sorry."**

"**You tricked me?" I was so mad I couldn't think. I lunged at him, but the Furies were fast. Two of them swooped down and plucked me up by the arms. My sword fell out of my hand, and before I knew it, I was dangling sixty feet in the air.**

Everyone glared at Nico

"**Oh, don't struggle, honey," my old math teacher cackled in my ear. "I'd hate to drop you."**

**Mrs. O'Leary barked angrily and jumped, trying to reach me, but we were too high.**

"**Tell Mrs. O'Leary to behave," Nico warned. He was hovering near me in the clutches of the third Fury. "I don't want her to get hurt, Percy. My father is waiting. He just wants to talk."**

"Yeah, talk my ass!" Thalia said through gritted teeth

**I wanted to tell Mrs. O'Leary to attack Nico, but it wouldn't have done any good, and Nico was right about one thing: my dog could get hurt if she tried to pick a fight with the Furies.**

**I gritted my teeth. "Mrs. O'Leary, down! It's okay, girl."**

**She whimpered and turned in circles, looking up at me. "All right, traitor," I growled at Nico. "You've got your prize. Take me to the stupid palace."**

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't hurt you now!" Thalia said the Nico

Nico ignored her and turned to Percy

"Percy, you know I'm sorry right!"

"I know, Nico, I know you are sorry, Thalia just forgive him!" Percy told her, but she ignored him

"Came on Thalia, Just forgive him, it's a thing of the past!" Bella said, but Thalia ignored her

**Alecto dropped me like a sack of turnips in the middle of the palace garden.**

**It was beautiful in a creepy way. Skeletal white trees grew from marble basins. Flower beds overflowed with golden plants and gemstones. A pair of thrones, one bone and one silver, sat on the balcony with a view of the Fields of Asphodel. It would've been a nice place to spend a Saturday morning except for the sulfurous smell and the cries of tortured souls in the distance.**

"And I'm never gonna go there!" Edward muttered, but everyone heard

"Edward, you can't say that, everyone dies one day!" Hades informed him

"But, I'm a vampire; I could stay alive for ever, if I wanted too!" Edward said pompously

"You what Edward, I could kill you right this second, so stop being arrogant." Zeus said

"Well, I will fight you off!" Edward said still smug

"Edward!" Esme scolded

"Bella, how the hell do you put up with him, he's arrogant, and I don't approve of your relationship at all!" Aphrodite said

Jacob snorted to Wolves, Reyna, and Harry

"That's what I said." he told them

Bella heard this, and was confused, why was Edward acting so differently?

"You don't approve, I don't care you're not my mother, and you can't tell me what to do!" Edward said back

"I'm still the Goddess of Love and I could change your feelings any second, so don't get on my wrong side,"

Bella was shocked to hear that. Was that the reason Reyna and Jacob were so close?

"Ergh! Edward. She may not be your mother but I am!" Esme retorted

"Be quiet Esme, you aren't my real mother!"

Everyone was shocked, Esme looked crestfallen, and Carlisle angry, while Edward looked like he didn't care, then Hades spoke up

"You know I could actually bring Elizabeth Masen here right now, so watch, your mouth Leech!" Hades said

Edward shut up but still glowered

**Skeletal warriors guarded the only exit. They wore tattered U.S. Army desert combat fatigues and carried M16s.**

**The third Fury deposited Nico next to me. Then all three of them settled on the top of the skeletal throne. I resisted the urge to strangle Nico. They'd only stop me. I'd have to wait for my revenge.**

"Did you get your revenge?" Thalia said

"No, there was no point, though for letting Bianca die, taking me to Hades was perfect payment!" Percy said, and Thalia shut up when she was reminded of Bianca

**I stared at the empty thrones, waiting for something to happen. Then the air shimmered. Three figures appeared-Hades and Persephone on their thrones, and an older woman standing between them. They seemed to be in the middle of an argument.**

"**-told you he was a bum!" the older woman said.**

Everyone laughed, "Who's the Bum!" Harry asked

"Hades is!" Demeter said, and Percy nodded still laughing

"**Mother!" Persephone replied.**

"So it was me." Demeter said, she had always ways thought Hades was a Bum anyway

"**We have visitors!" Hades barked. "Please!"**

**Hades, one of my least favorite gods, smoothed his black robes, which were covered with the terrified faces of the damned. He had pale skin and the intense eyes of a madman.**

"Yep, Hades is a madman!" Poseidon said

"Well, you're Mr. Pessimistic!" Hades said back

"Poseidon and Hades! Stop it !" Zeus said

"Oh be quiet! Mr. Dramatic!" They retorted together

"Enough! Poseidon read!" Hera scolded

"**Percy Jackson," he said with satisfaction. "At last."**

**Queen Persephone studied me curiously. I'd seen her once before in the winter, but now in the summer she looked like a totally different goddess. She had lustrous black hair and warm brown eyes. Her dress shimmered with colors. Flower patterns in the fabric changed and bloomed-roses, tulips, honeysuckle.**

"Yeah, her image depends on the seasons," Demeter said

**The woman standing between them was obviously Persephone's mother. She had the same hair and eyes, but looked older and sterner. Her dress was golden, the color of a wheat field. Her hair was woven with dried grasses so it reminded me of a wicker basket. I figured that if somebody lit a match next to her, she'd be in serious trouble.**

"I don't approve of fire on my crops," Demeter glared at Percy

"**Hmmph," the older woman said. "Demigods. Just what we need."**

**Next to me, Nico knelt. I wished I had my sword so I could cut his stupid head off. Unfortunately, Riptide was still out in the fields somewhere.**

"**Father," Nico said. "I have done as you asked."**

"**Took you long enough," Hades grumbled. "Your sister would've done a better job."**

"Burn!" Leo said

"Leo!" Piper said sternly

"Sorry Nico,"

**Nico lowered his head. If I hadn't been so mad at the little creep, I might've felt sorry for him.**

**I glared up at the god of the dead. "What do you want, Hades?"**

"Ergh! Percy stop trying to get yourself killed, you can't speak to a God like that unless you want your head chopped off!" Reyna sighed

"**To talk, of course." The god twisted his mouth in a cruel smile. "Didn't Nico tell you?"**

"**So this whole quest was a lie. Nico brought me down here to get me killed."**

"No I didn't!"

"**Oh, no," Hades said. "I'm afraid Nico was quite sincere about wanting to help you. The boy is as honest as he is dense. I simply convinced him to take a small detour and bring you here first."**

"See, I did want too help him!"

"**Father," Nico, said, "you promised that Percy would not be harmed. You said if I brought him, you would tell me about my past-about my mother."**

**Queen Persephone sighed dramatically. "Can we please not talk about that woman in my presence?"**

"Yeah, the same problem with Amphitrite." Poseidon sighed

"And Hera." Zeus muttered

"**I'm sorry, my dove," Hades said. "I had to promise the boy something."**

**The older lady harrumphed. "I warned you, daughter. This scoundrel Hades is no good. You could've married the god of doctors or the god of lawyers, but noooo. You had to eat the pomegranate."**

Hades groaned, Demeter glared at him

"**Mother-"**

"**And get stuck in the Underworld!"**

"**Mother, please-"**

"**And here it is August, and do you come home like you're supposed to? Do you ever think about your poor lonely mother?"**

"She never stops complaining!" Hades muttered and Demeter slapped him

"**DEMETER!" Hades shouted. "That is enough. You are a guest in my house."**

"**Oh, a house is it?" she said. "You call this dump a house? Make my daughter live in this dark, damp-"**

"**I told you," Hades said, grinding his teeth, "there's a war in the world above. You and Persephone are better off here with me."**

"So you're not going to help!" Zeus shouted at Hades

"Oh be quiet Zeus! This is the future; I don't know what's running through head."

"**Excuse me," I broke in. "But if you're going to kill me, could you just get on with it?"**

**All three gods looked at me.**

Despite the situation, everyone laughed** (a/n: I don't know why but I found this bit really funny) **

"**Well, this one has an attitude," Demeter observed.**

"**Indeed," Hades agreed. "I'd love to kill him."**

"**Father!" Nico said. "You promised!"**

"**Husband, we talked about this," Persephone chided. "You can't go around incinerating every hero. Besides, he's brave. I like that."**

"Thank Chaos for Persephone!" Poseidon sighed with relief

**Hades rolled his eyes. "You liked that Orpheus fellow too. Look how well that turned out. Let me kill him, just a little bit."**

"Can you kill someone a little bit?" Jason said

"I know right, nothing can be half dead and Half alive literally." Frank said

"**Father, you promised!" Nico said. "You said you only wanted to talk to him. You said if I brought him, you'd explain."**

**Hades glowered, smoothing the folds of his robes. "And so I shall. Your mother-what can I tell you? She was a wonderful woman." He glanced uncomfortably at Persephone. "Forgive me, my dear. I mean for a mortal, of course. Her name was Maria di Angelo. She was from Venice, but her father was a diplomat in Washington, D.C. That's where I met her. When you and your sister were young, it was a bad time to be children of Hades. World War II was brewing. A few of my, ah, other children were leading the losing side. I thought it best to put you two out of harm's way."**

"When I told you specifically to kill her and them!"

"But Lord Zeus, if someone told you to kill your children, then would you?" Rosalie asked rhetorically

Zeus stayed silent

"That's what I thought!"

"**That's why you hid us in the Lotus Casino?"**

**Hades shrugged. "You didn't age. You didn't realize time was passing. I waited for the right time to bring you out."**

"**But what happened to our mother? Why don't I remember her?"**

"**Not important," Hades snapped.**

"Of course it is, he needs to know!" Hestia said almost harshly

"**What? Of course, it's important. And you had other children-why were we the only ones who were sent away? And who was the lawyer who got us out?"**

**Hades grit his teeth. "You would do well to listen more and talk less, boy. As for the lawyer . . ."**

**Hades snapped his fingers. On top of his throne, the Fury Alecto began to change until she was a middle-aged man in a pinstriped suit with a briefcase. She-he-looked strange crouching at Hades's shoulder.**

"I wonder what else they do?" Thalia said suspiciously

"**You!" Nico said.**

**The Fury cackled. "I do lawyers and teachers very well!"**

**Nico was trembling. "But why did you free us from the casino?"**

"**You know why," Hades said. "This idiot son of Poseidon cannot be allowed to be the child of the prophecy."**

"That's why, and not because you cared!" Athena said

Hades said nothing

**I plucked a ruby off the nearest plant and threw it at Hades. **

Everyone laughed

**It sank harmlessly into his robe. "You should be helping Olympus!" I said. "All the other gods are fighting Typhon, and you're just sitting here-"**

"Percy, you tried to hit Hades with a plum!" Thalia said bewildered

"What am I gonna do with you?" Annabeth said shaking her head

"Err…give me candy and tell me you love me?" Percy suggested

"Percy, that question was rhetorical."

"**Waiting things out," Hades finished. "Yes, that's correct. When's the last time Olympus ever helped me, half-blood? When's the last time a child of mine was ever welcomed as a hero? Bah! Why should I rush out and help them? I'll stay here with my forces intact."**

"**And when Kronos comes after you?"**

"**Let him try. He'll be weakened. And my son here, Nico-" Hades looked at him with distaste. "Well, he's not much now, I'll grant you. It would've been better if Bianca had lived. But give him four more years of training. We can hold out that long, surely. Nico will turn sixteen, as the prophecy says, and then he will make the decision that will save the world. And I will be king of the gods."**

"You are Crazy, Mental, weird…Athena Help me out here," Ares said

"Um… mad, deranged, delusional, odd, bizarre," Athena added

Hades looked pissed

"**You're crazy," I said. "Kronos will crush you, right after he finishes pulverizing Olympus."**

**Hades spread his hands. "Well, you'll get a chance to find out, half-blood. Because you'll be waiting out this war in my dungeons."**

"**No!" Nico said. "Father, that wasn't our agreement. And you haven't told me everything!"**

"Sorry Nico, it isnt' your fault! I shouldn't have blamed you without knowing," Thalia said

"No! I want you to grovel for forgiveness." Nico said sarcastically

"Don't push your luck!" Thalia got out her knife

"Fine, you're forgiven, don't kill me!"

"**I've told you all you need to know," Hades said. "As for our agreement, I spoke with Jackson. I did not harm him. You got your information. If you had wanted a better deal, you should've made me swear on the Styx. Now, go to your room!" He waved his hand, and Nico vanished.**

"I couldn't do anything, Sorry Percy!"

"It's okay Nico!"

"**That boy needs to eat more," Demeter grumbled. "He's too skinny. He needs more cereal."**

**Persephone rolled her eyes. "Mother, enough with the cereal. My lord Hades, are you sure, we can't let this little hero go? He's awfully brave."**

"**No, my dear. I've spared his life. That's enough."**

**I was sure she was going to stand up for me. The brave, beautiful Persephone was going to get me out of this.**

"Sure, she's brave and beautiful when she tries to save you!" Thalia said

**She shrugged indifferently. "Fine. What's for breakfast? I'm starving."**

"**Cereal," Demeter said.**

"**Mother!" The two women disappeared in a swirl of flowers and wheat.**

"**Don't feel too bad, Percy Jackson," Hades said. "My ghosts keep me well informed of Kronos's plans. I can assure you that you had no chance to stop him in time. By tonight, it will be too late for your precious Mount Olympus. The trap will be sprung."**

"Trap? What Trap?" Athena asked Hades harshly

"Don't know! Future remember!" he replied

"**What trap?" I demanded. "If you know about it, do something! At least let me tell the other gods!"**

**Hades smiled. "You are spirited. I'll give you credit for that. Have fun in my dungeon. We'll check on you again in-oh, fifty or sixty years."**

"Okay! Finished!" Poseidon said, he gave every one a minute to take it the chapter

Edward scooted closer the Rosalie, and she suddenly got tense

"I know you eavesdropped on them, so what did they say?" He whispered so only Rosalie could hear.

**Please Review ! :) :) :) ;) ;) ;) :D :D :D**


	10. Chapter 10: The worst bath ever

**A/n: I own nothing you recognize **

Rosalie's p.o.v

Edward scooted closer to me, and I suddenly got tense

"I know you eavesdropped on them, so what did they say?" He whispered so only I could hear.

Shit! I was stuck; I couldn't ran for it because he would catch me, and if I told him the truth,... but the truth was I didn't hear that much. But still, whatever I had found out was valuable information.

Before I could say anything, Edward rose, "Rosalie and I need to talk about something!" he announced, and before anyone could react, zoomed out of the room, I sent an apologetic glance to Emmet and followed Edward out.

"They were talking about Harry's girlfriend…and how her birthday is coming up and she's coming here that day so they…wanted to plan a birthday for her!" I blurted after a split second decision, once we were outside

Edward didn't look convinced, he narrowed his Topaz eyes "Don't lie to me Rosalie; I know it was something about Bella, he's the mutt's son, he probably wanted revenge, you can't trust werewolves, I bet Aphrodite and Athena are helping him." He said speaking more to himself then me

I stared at him in disbelief, what was wrong with this Vampire? he was plain obsessed with Bella, he didn't even trust her to make her own decisions. I don't think he even loved her, I think he was just fascinated by the fact that a human that smelled like lush has a mind block and she's fragile, has taken interest in him. While I was lost in thought, I didn't notice Edward talking to me.

"Rosalie, are you even listening? I said I am going to change Bella by the end of this book!" He stated clearly

I glared at him in shock, "Edward, listen to yourself, are you thinking clearly? You were the one against Bella changing because you wanted her to have all the human experiences, then way did you change your mind do quickly?" I demanded

"Rosalie, I didn't want upset Bella by taking her away from Black, but now I know he imprints and moves on, has a family, there is nothing wrong with changing her so soon. The dog won't be affected!" He told me

"Edward, you can't do this, why aren't you taking Bella's choice into account!" I yelled

"But, Bella's the one that wants me to change her!" Edward retorted just as loudly

"Edward, have you noticed she hasn't said anything lately, she barely speaks to you these days!" I reminded him

Edwards look of rage was replaced by a pained expression,

"You have to understand, just ask what Bella wants first, don't forget, how will she say goodbye to her Dad, Renee and her friends? How can she say goodbye to everyone she love? Maybe she realized that and has changed her mind," I told him pleading him to understand

I Left him to think about it and walked back into the throne room at Human pace, and took my seat; Edward came in a while later, looking normal again

Emmet looked at me questioningly, and I mouthed: _I'll tell you later_. In addition, he just nodded

No one's p.o.v

Everyone else knew better than to question, and so Poseidon just handed the book to Hades.

"**I take the worst bath ever**," He began

"Woo! Yeah! It was the worst, but it made me into a kickass hero!" Percy cheered for himself, also trying to lighten the mood

"Ergh! Kelp head, you are so arrogant," Thalia complained

"You're just jealous because I'm better than you," Percy said stubbornly

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Thalia said, rolling her eyes

**My sword reappeared in my pocket.**

**Yeah, great timing. Now I could attack the walls all I wanted. **

Everyone burst into laughter

"Honestly Percy, you can make the most fearsome situations into something funny," Apollo said laughing

"I'm awesome that way." Percy said proudly

**My cell had no bars, no windows, not even a door. The skeletal guards shoved me straight through a wall, and it became solid behind me. I wasn't sure if the room was airtight. Probably. Hades's dungeon was meant for dead people and they don't breathe. So forget fifty or sixty years. I'd be dead in fifty or sixty minutes. **

"There was still air in there, I probably wanted you to live," Hades said

**Meanwhile, if Hades wasn't lying, some big trap was going to be sprung in New York by the end of the day, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.**

"Percy, if you don't think about yourself, I will do something!" Thalia threatened

"Bring it on," Percy, challenged

"Fine, I'll hang you from a pit of boiling lava and hold a lighter by your clothes and I won't let you go unless you beg for yourself." Thalia said smugly, it was she had it planned out, and knowing Thalia, she probably did.

Almost everyone's mouths dropped open, some people gulped. Thalia was really brutal.

"Been there, done that." Percy muttered darkly, remembering the quest in the labyrinth, he said it to himself, but Thalia heard him

"What! When? How come you never told me?" She asked, forgetting about her threat

"I think I forgot to tell you, but I was doing something for Hephausteus by Typhon's Volcano when, I fell in lava so I called water, a bit too much water, to save me, then I caused an explosion and I think that the reason Typhon is awake." Percy explained his voice getting smaller, as he saw half the Olympians glaring at him

Zeus glared at Percy and sub-consciously reached for his bolt to zap Percy with,

"Father, we will talk about this later," Athena said when she saw what Zeus was intending to do.

**I sat on the cold stone floor, feeling miserable.**

**I don't remember dozing off. Then again, it must've been about seven in the morning, mortal time, and I'd been through a lot.**

"Wow, you only had a few hours sleep, how did you fight?" Thalia said

"Achilles remember," Percy, reminded

"Oh right I forgot,"

**I dreamed I was on the porch of Rachel's beach house in St. Thomas. The sun was rising over the Caribbean. Dozens of wooded islands dotted the sea, and white sails cut across the water. The smell of salt air made me wonder if I would ever see the ocean again.**

"Don't be so pessimistic Percy," Rachel said, rolling her eyes

"How'd you get out anyway?" Quil asked

"Nico helped." Percy said simply

**Rachel's parents sat at the patio table while a personal chef fixed them omelets. Mr. Dare was dressed in a white linen suit. He was reading The Wall Street Journal. The lady across the table was probably Mrs. Dare, though all I could see of her were hot pink fingernails and the cover of Condé Nast Traveler. Why she'd be reading about vacations while she was on vacation, I wasn't sure.**

"Mum hates the beach and just wants to go somewhere else," Rachel explained

**Rachel stood at the porch railing and sighed. She wore Bermuda shorts and her van Gogh T-shirt. (Yeah, Rachel was trying to teach me about art, but don't get too impressed. **

"At least you listen Percy," Rachel said, smiling

**I only remembered the dude's name because he cut his ear off.)**

"Seaweed brain," She muttered, miffed that he didn't pay attention properly

**I wondered if she was thinking about me, **

Aphrodite cooed

Annabeth glared

**And how much it sucked that I wasn't with them on vacation. I know that's what I was thinking.**

"No I wasn't, I thinking about the dreams, I've been having,"

**Then the scene changed. I was in St. Louis, standing downtown under the Arch. I'd been there before. In fact, I'd almost fallen to my death there before.**

"I was so glad you fell in water," Poseidon sighed

**Over the city, a thunderstorm boiled-a wall of absolute black with lightning streaking across the sky. A few blocks away, swarms of emergency vehicles gathered with their lights flashing. A column of dust rose from a mound of rubble, which I realized was a collapsed skyscraper.**

"Whoa, the situation is serious," Alice, said her eyes wide, she sounded worried

**A nearby reporter was yelling into her microphone: "Officials are describing this as a structural failure, Dan, though no one seems to know if it is related to the storm conditions."**

**Wind whipped her hair. The temperature was dropping rapidly, like ten degrees just since I'd been standing there.**

Almost everyone shivered

"**Thankfully, the building had been abandoned for demolition," she said. "But police have evacuated all nearby buildings for fear the collapse might trigger-"**

**She faltered as a mighty groan cut through the sky. A blast of lightning hit the center of the darkness. The entire city shook. The air glowed, and every hair on my body stood up. **

"Yep, that's my master bolt." Zeus said proudly

**The blast was so powerful I knew it could only be one thing: Zeus's master bolt. It should have vaporized its target, but the dark cloud only staggered backward. A smoky fist appeared out of the clouds. It smashed another tower, and the whole thing collapsed like children's blocks.**

"I know the war is serious but, can you at least try not to hit the buildings, people live there you know," Bella said with no fear at all

Edward forcefully grabbed her arm, "Are you trying to get yourself killed," He said to her, tightening the grip, his eyes were black and Bella started to get scared

"Father, Bella is correct, some of these are the Mortals homes, and we should be a bit more careful." Athena said and Zeus nodded, but before he could say anything….

"Edward you're hurting me!" Bella suddenly said, with her voice full of fear, Edward came back to reality and let go of her arm, leaving a huge blue bruise the size of his hand.

A visible growl came from the other side of the room, Jacob was shaking dangerously, and a giant russet wolf burst out of his body, he let out a enormous growl and within seconds, had pinned Edward's body to the floor, since Edward's mind reading had been blocked he hadn't seen Jacob coming. Everyone was too stunned to do anything. Edward didn't bother to fight back, knowing if Jacob hurt him then Bella would be upset.

"Jacob, you know better than this, get off Edward now!" Aphrodite yelled

Jacob glared at Edward once more and climbed off his body, he phased back, and sat in his seat, muttering under his breath, Reyna rubbed his arm comfortingly and Harry said words of tranquility.

"If that happens again, I will hurt him, or even kill him!" He told Reyna, Harry, and the Wolves, making sure everything heard, and weirdly Bella wasn't angry with Jacob for jumping on Edward instead, she was happy he cared about her.

"Bella, come with me, I can heal that bruise in a second," Apollo said, shooting Edward a dirty look before leading a dazed Bella out of the room.

"Edward, what the fuck was that!" Rosalie demanded, the rest of the Cullen's looked as though they wanted to ask the same

"I don't know, I felt a sudden urge to drink her blood even though I have gotten used to it, I felt like I had to take control of her, mark her so no one could steal her," Edward told them in a whisper

Some of the Cullen's looked a little weirded out, the way Edward was speaking was freaky

"Edward! Get a head of yourself, if you keep this up, all you will do is scare her away," Alice warned him,

Just as Bella with her newly healed arm and Apollo walked in to the room, instead of sitting next to Edward she sat next to Rosalie, and Edward felt slightly ashamed of himself

**The reporter screamed. People ran through the streets. Emergency lights flashed. I saw a streak of silver in the sky-a chariot pulled by reindeer, but it wasn't Santa Claus driving. It was Artemis, riding the storm, shooting shafts of moonlight into the darkness. A fiery golden comet crossed her path . . . maybe her brother Apollo.**

"Woo! Go me! Go Apollo!" Apollo cheered

**One thing was clear: Typhon had made it to the Mississippi River. He was halfway across the U.S., leaving destruction in his wake, and the gods were barely slowing him down.**

"We did try," Athena, said glaring at Percy

"Don't mind him Mum; he always looks on the bad side of things, it's a trait of Poseidon," Annabeth said

Poseidon had nothing to say against that, because it was true

**The mountain of darkness loomed above me. A foot the size of Yankee Stadium was about to smash me when a voice hissed, "Percy!"**

**I lunged out blindly. Before I was fully awake, I had Nico pinned to the floor of the cell with the edge of my sword at his throat.**

Hades glared at Percy

"Well I did deserve it," Nico muttered

"**Want . . . to . . . rescue," he choked.**

**Anger woke me up fast. "Oh, yeah? And why should I trust you?"**

"**No . . . choice?" he gagged.**

**I wished he hadn't said something logical like that. I let him go.**

"So you did want to kill me?" Nico said inching away from Percy

"I did, but don't worry about it now Dude!" Percy said, tapping Nico on the shoulder

**Nico curled into a ball and made retching sounds while his throat recovered. Finally, he got to his feet, eyeing my sword warily. His own blade was sheathed. I suppose if he'd wanted to kill me, he could've done it while I slept. Still, I didn't trust him.**

"I told you I didn't know what my Dad was planning," Nico said

"I know, I was just too stubborn!" Percy involuntarily admitted

"**We have to get out of here," he said.**

"**Why?" I said. "Does your dad want to talk to me again?"**

**He winced. "Percy, I swear on the River Styx, I didn't know what he was planning."**

"**You know what your dad is like!" **

"**He tricked me. He promised-" Nico held up his hands. "Look . . . right now, we need to leave. I put the guards to sleep, but it won't last."**

"Hades, aren't you angry that your Son is disobeying you?" Athena asked

"Which Hades the one in the book, or the real life one?" Leo asked confused

"The one is the book but, I'm asked the real one," Athena explained

"I don't know what I'll do in the Future but right now, I'm really glad Nico has friends and is no longer an outcast,"

"Wow, I like this Hades better than the Future one!" Percy said

**I wanted to strangle him again. Unfortunately, he was right. We didn't have time to argue, and I couldn't escape on my own. He pointed at the wall. A whole section vanished, revealing a corridor.**

"Cool, can you do that everywhere?" Leo asked

"No, just in the underworld,"

"**Come on." Nico led the way.**

**I wished I had Annabeth's invisibility hat, but as it turned out, I didn't need it. Every time we came to a skeleton guard, Nico just pointed at it, and its glowing eyes dimmed. Unfortunately, the more Nico did it, the more tired he seemed. We walked through a maze of corridors filled with guards. By the time we reached a kitchen staffed by skeletal cooks and servants, I was practically carrying Nico. He managed to put all the dead to sleep but nearly passed out himself. I dragged him out of the servants' entrance and into the Fields of Asphodel.**

"Wow, your powers really tire you out don't they," Alice said with sympathy

"Yeah, but I'm used to it," Nico said his cheeks coloring

**I almost felt relieved until I heard the sound of bronze gongs high in the castle.**

"**Alarms," Nico murmured sleepily.**

"**What do we do?"**

**He yawned then frowned like he was trying to remember. "How about . . . run?"**

"That would be the obvious thing to do,"

**Running with a drowsy child of Hades was more like doing a three-legged race with a life-size rag doll. I lugged him along, holding my sword in front of me. The spirits of the dead made way like the Celestial bronze was a blazing fire.**

"That's a good comparison," Annabeth said

**The sound of gongs rolled across the fields. Ahead loomed the walls of Erebos, but the longer we walked, the farther away they seemed. I was about to collapse from exhaustion when I heard a familiar "WOOOOOF!"**

"Yay, Mrs O'Leary, is here to save the day,"

**Mrs. O'Leary bounded out of nowhere and ran circles around us, ready to play.**

"Thank Goodness, Now she could carry you,"

"**Good girl.'" I said. "Can you give us a ride to the Styx?"**

**The word Styx got her excited. She probably thought I meant sticks. She jumped a few times, chased her tail just to teach it who was boss, and then calmed down enough for me to push Nico onto her back. I climb aboard, and she raced toward the gates. She leaped straight over the EZ-DEATH line, sending guards sprawling and causing more alarms to blare. Cerberus barked, but he sounded more excited than angry, like: Can I play too?**

"Ergh, curse you, you've softened my dog," Hades grumbled

Percy, Annabeth, and Nico just laughed

**Fortunately, he didn't follow us, and Mrs. O'Leary kept running. She didn't stop until we were far upriver and the fires of Erebos had disappeared in the murk.**

**Nico slid off Mrs. O'Leary's back and crumpled in a heap on the black sand.**

"That wasn't a good landing," Leo chuckled

**I took out a square of ambrosia-part of the emergency god-food I always kept with me. It was a little bashed up, but Nico chewed it.**

"**Uh," he mumbled. "Better."**

"**Your powers drain you too much," I noted.**

**He nodded sleepily. "With great power . . . comes great need to take a nap. Wake me up later."**

Everyone laughed,

"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility," Annabeth and Athena corrected

"**Whoa, zombie dude." I caught him before he could pass out again. "We're at the river. You need to tell me what to do."**

**I fed him the last of my ambrosia, which was a little dangerous. The stuff can heal demigods, but it can also burn us to ashes if we eat too much. Fortunately, it seemed to do the trick. Nico shook his head a few times and struggled to his feet.**

"Let's say someone human eats it, what happens?" Jacob asked

"They burn up and melt to ashes," Ares said bluntly

Bella and Rachel shivered

"Forget I asked," Jacob said

"**My father will be coming soon," he said. "We should hurry."**

**The River Styx's current swirled with strange objects-broken toys, ripped-up college diplomas, wilted homecoming corsages-all the dreams people had thrown away as they'd passed from life into death. **

"Wow, so every failed dream is going to end up there," Embry, said

**Looking at the black water, I could think of about three million places I'd rather swim.**

"**So . . . I just jump in?"**

"No!" Poseidon and Annabeth yelled

"**You have to prepare yourself first," Nico said, "or the river will destroy you. It will burn away your body and soul."**

"**Sounds fun," I muttered.**

"**This is no joke," Nico warned. "There is only one way to stay anchored to your mortal life. You have to . . ." **

"I've just realized something, I am such a Vlacas for not remembering before," Athena palm-faced

"What wrong Mum, What did you remember?" Annabeth asked

"Percy's Achilles spot, we'll know where it is," Annabeth

The Whole room except for the Demigods gasped, it hadn't occurred to them before

"Don't Worry, I don't mind you reading about my ex-Achilles spot," Percy said

"Huh, what do you mean by ex-Achilles spot, you haven't lost it have you, because how are you alive," Athena said

"I bathed in the river Tiber," Percy said simply

Athena palm-faced again "Of course, if you enter Roman territory then you no longer have it, Goodness I'm losing my touch, I'm the Goddess of Wisdom for Chaos's sake," Athena said to herself

Everyone now understood

**He glanced behind me and his eyes widened. I turned and found myself face-to-face with a Greek warrior.**

**For a second I thought he was Ares, because this guy looked exactly like the god of war-tall and buff, with a cruel scarred face and closely shaved black hair. He wore a white tunic and bronze armor. He held a plumed war helm under his arm. But his eyes were human-pale green like a shallow sea-and a bloody arrow stuck out of his left calf, just above the ankle.**

"Wow, you met Achilles," Annabeth said

**I stunk at Greek names, but even I knew the greatest warrior of all time, who had died from a wounded heel.**

"**Achilles," I said.**

**The ghost nodded. "I warned the other one not to follow my path. Now I will warn you."**

"**Luke? You spoke with Luke?"**

"**Do not do this," he said. "It will make you powerful. But it will also make you weak. Your prowess in combat will be beyond any mortal's, but your weaknesses, your failings will increase as well."**

"Yeah, that makes sense, you are powerful in combat but really weak at the same time," Jacob said sarcastically

"**You mean I'll have a bad heel?" I said. "Couldn't I just, like, wear something besides sandals? No offense."**

**He stared down at his bloody foot. "The heel is only my physical weakness, demigod. My mother, Thetis, held me there when she dipped me in the Styx. What really killed me was my own arrogance. Beware! Turn back!"**

"So the message there is don't be arrogant, and Percy is the least arrogant person I know," Reyna said

"Thanks Reyna,"

**He meant it. I could hear the regret and bitterness in his voice. He was honestly trying to save me from a terrible fate.**

**Then again, Luke had been here, and he hadn't turned back.**

**That's why Luke had been able to host the spirit of Kronos without his body disintegrating. This is how he'd prepared himself, and why he seemed impossible to kill. He had bathed in the River Styx and taken on the powers of the greatest mortal hero, Achilles. He was invincible.**

"But he being invincible wasn't the reason he lost," Percy said

Everyone looked curious and confused

"**I have to," I said. "Otherwise I don't stand a chance."**

**Achilles lowered his head. "Let the gods witness I tried. Hero, if you must do this, concentrate on your mortal point. Imagine one spot of your body that will remain vulnerable. This is the point where your soul will anchor your body to the world. It will be your greatest weakness, but also your only hope. No man may be completely invulnerable. Lose sight of what keeps you mortal, and the River Styx will burn you to ashes. You will cease to exist."**

"I am so glad you didn't mess up," Annabeth said hugging Percy

"**I don't suppose you could tell me Luke's mortal point?"**

"Ergh, Percy that was not the question to ask,"

**He scowled. "Prepare yourself, foolish boy. Whether you survive this or not, you have sealed your doom!"**

**With that happy thought, he vanished.**

"That is not happy," Leo said

"Leo, that was sarcasm,"

"I knew that,"

"**Percy," Nico said, "maybe he's right."**

"**This was your idea."**

"**I know, but now that we're here-"**

"**Just wait on the shore. If anything happens to me . . . Well, maybe Hades will get his wish, and you'll be the child of the prophecy after all."**

"**Percy don't say that," **

"In a way, Nico will be the child of a prophecy when he turns 16," Thalia said

"And so will Hazel,"

"I think the war that is coming now, in our time, could be Jason's prophecy, he does turn 16 soon," Piper said

"I think you're right Piper," Annabeth said thinking about it

**He didn't look pleased about that, but I didn't care.**

**Before I could change my mind, I concentrated on the small of my back-a tiny point just opposite my navel. It was well defended when I wore my armor. It would be hard to hit by accident, and few enemies would aim for it on purpose. No place was perfect, but this seemed right to me, and a lot more dignified than, like, my armpit or something.**

"How weird is that, which Luke would have been hard to kill if he hadn't done it himself, and it was the place you mentioned," Annabeth said in undertone to Percy

"I know, Fate works in weird ways!" he whispered back

**I pictured a string, a bungee cord connecting me to the world from the small of my back. And I stepped into the river.**

**Imagine jumping into a pit of boiling acid. Now multiply that pain times fifty. You still won't be close to understanding what it felt like to swim in the Styx. **

"Wow, that is probably the Worse thing you have done," Reyna, said

"I know, it was worse then holding the sky," Percy said

"What! You held up the Sky!" Poseidon shrieked

"Well yeah, When Bianca, Zoe, Grover, Thalia and I went on a quest to save Annabeth and Artemis from Luke and Atlas, he had forced Artemis to hold it and I took it from her," Percy explained in quick

Artemis paled when Atlas was mentioned and saddened when Zoe and Bianca were, she hated that Zoe was going to die soon and she hadn't met her newest hunter, finally she was shocked, a boy went to say her? A boy? He took the sky from her willing? Wow! Percy Jackson was something else.

Everyone else looked impressed

**I planned to walk in slow and courageous like a real hero. As soon as the water touched my legs, my muscles turned to jelly and I fell face-first into the current.**

**I submerged completely. For the first time in my life, I couldn't breathe underwater. I finally understood the panic of drowning. Every nerve in my body burned. I was dissolving in the water. I saw faces-Rachel, Grover, Tyson, my mother-but they faded as soon as they appeared.**

Annabeth saddened, he hadn't seen her face

"**Percy," my mom said. "I give you my blessing."**

"**Be safe, brother!" Tyson pleaded.**

"**Enchiladas!" Grover said. I wasn't sure where that came from, but it didn't seem to help much.**

**I was losing the fight. The pain was too much. My hands and feet were melting into the water; my soul was being ripped from my body. I couldn't remember who I was. The pain of Kronos's scythe had been nothing compared to this.**

Everyone one tensed and quickly were normal again as they realized he was still in the room and alive

**The cord, a familiar voice said. Remember your lifeline, dummy!**

**Suddenly there was a tug in my lower back. The current pulled at me, but it wasn't carrying me away anymore. I imagined the string in my back keeping me tied to the shore.**

"**Hold on, Seaweed Brain." It was Annabeth's voice, much clearer now. "You're not getting away from me that easily."**

Annabeth brightened up instantly; she had been the one to save him

"Wow, Annabeth you saved him, he really must love you," Alice said

"I know he does," he said

Percy put his arm around Annabeth's waist and she dropped her head on his shoulder

Athena was no longer upset about this relationship but still a little uneasy

**The cord strengthened.**

**I could see Annabeth now standing barefoot above me on the canoe lake pier. I'd fallen out of my canoe. That was it. She was reaching out her hand to haul me up, and she was trying not to laugh. She wore her orange camp T-shirt and jeans. Her hair was tucked up in her Yankees cap, which was strange because that should have made her invisible.**

"**You are such an idiot sometimes." She smiled. "Come on. Take my hand."**

"I wonder what Luke saw when he was bathing in the river," Thalia said in undertone to Percy, Annabeth, Nico, and Rachel

"Don't worry, I'll ask his ghost," Nico said

**Memories came flooding back to me-sharper and more colorful. I stopped dissolving. My name was Percy Jackson. I reached up and took Annabeth's hand.**

**Suddenly I burst out of the river. I collapsed on the sand, and Nico scrambled back in surprise.**

"**Are you okay?" he stammered. "Your skin. Oh, gods. You're hurt!"**

"Well obviously he was hurt!"

**My arms were bright red. I felt like every inch of my body had been broiled over a slow flame.**

**I looked around for Annabeth, though I knew she wasn't here. It had seemed so real.**

"**I'm fine . . . I think." The color of my skin turned back to normal. The pain subsided. Mrs. O'Leary came up and sniffed me with concern. Apparently, I smelled really interesting.**

"Or she was just worried about you,"

"**Do you feel stronger?" Nico asked.**

**Before I could decide what I felt, a voice boomed, "THERE!"**

**An army of the dead marched toward us. A hundred skeletal Roman legionnaires led the way with shields and spears. Behind them came an equal number of British redcoats with bayonets fixed. In the middle of the host, Hades himself rode a black-and-gold chariot pulled by nightmare horses, their eyes and manes smoldering with fire.**

"Wow, and I thought Zeus was the Dramatic one," Poseidon said

Hades and Zeus glared at him

"**You will not escape me this time, Percy Jackson!" Hades bellowed. "Destroy him!"**

"**Father, no!" Nico shouted, but it was too late. The front line of Roman zombies lowered their spears and advanced.**

**Mrs. O'Leary growled and got ready to pounce. Maybe that's what set me off. I didn't want them hurting my dog. Plus, I was tired of Hades being a big bully. If I was going to die, I might as well go down fighting.**

"So this was the fight with Hades you were talking about," Poseidon said, not worried (for once) about Percy

"Yeah," Percy answered

**I yelled, and the River Styx exploded. A black tidal wave smashed into the legionnaires. Spears and shields flew everywhere. Roman zombies began to dissolve, smoke coming off their bronze helmets.**

**The redcoats lowered their bayonets, but I didn't wait for them. I charged.**

**It was the stupidest thing I've ever done. A hundred muskets fired at me, point blank. All of them missed. I crashed into their line and started hacking with Riptide. Bayonets jabbed. Swords slashed. Guns reloaded and fired. Nothing touched me.**

"Percy, I was there, it all touched you, but it kept on bouncing off," Nico said,

Everyone was surprised, The Achilles curse was powerful

**I whirled through the ranks, slashing redcoats to dust, one after the other. My mind went on autopilot: stab, dodge, cut, deflect, roll. Riptide was no longer a sword. It was an arc of pure destruction. **

"Wow, first it's a pen, then it's a sword and now it's an arc of pure destruction,"

**I broke through the enemy line and leaped into the black chariot. Hades raised his staff. A bolt of dark energy shot toward me, but I deflected it off my blade and slammed into him. The god and I both tumbled out of the chariot.**

**The next thing I knew, my knee was planted on Hades's chest. I was holding the collar of his royal robes in one fist, and the tip of my sword was poised right over his face.**

"In your face Hades, my son beat you," Poseidon cheered

"No, that was because I was easy on him," Hades said

"With a whole army, yeah right easy," Poseidon pointed out

"I was err…Trying to test him, to see if his Achilles Curse had worked," Hades said

"Just admit it Hades, My son beat you,"

"Dad, it's ok, Can you just read uncle?"

**Silence. The army did nothing to defend their master. I glanced back and realized why. There was nothing left of them but weapons in the sand and piles of smoking, empty uniforms. I had destroyed them all.**

**Hades swallowed. "Now, Jackson, listen here. . . ."**

**He was immortal. There was no way I could kill him, but gods can be wounded. I knew that firsthand, and I figured a sword in the face wouldn't feel too good.**

"**Just because I'm a nice person," I snarled, "I'll let you go. But first, tell me about that trap!"**

"Yeah Hades, we needed to know, Olympus was at risk," Athena said

Hades ignored her

**Hades melted into nothing, leaving me holding empty black robes.**

**I cursed and got to my feet, breathing heavily. Now that the danger was over, I realized how tired I was. Every muscle in my body ached. I looked down at my clothes. They were slashed to pieces and full of bullet holes, but I was fine. Not a mark on me.**

"Cool, it's like you have a Stone hard body like us," Emmet said

**Nico's mouth hung open. "You just . . . with a sword . . . you just-"**

"**I think the river thing worked," I said.**

"Well duh"

"**Oh gee," he said sarcastically. "You think?"**

**Mrs. O'Leary barked happily and wagged her tail. She bounded around, sniffing empty uniforms and hunting for bones. I lifted Hades's robe. I could still see the tormented faces shimmering in the fabric.**

**I walked to the edge of the river. "Be free."**

**I dropped the robe in the water and watched as it swirled away, dissolving in the current.**

"Wow, I didn't think a Person like you existed, but I was wrong, you care about the dead too," Bella said to Percy

"And you care about the undead," Percy said to her

Moreover, they both laughed and soon everyone joined in

"**Go back to your father," I told Nico. "Tell him he owes me for letting him go. Find out what's going to happen to Mount Olympus and convince him to help."**

**Nico stared at me. "I . . . I can't. He'll hate me now. I mean . . . even more."**

"I am not myself in the future," Hades said shaking his head

"**You have to," I said. "You owe me too."**

**His ears turned red. "Percy, I told you I was sorry. Please . . . let me come with you. I want to fight."**

"**You'll be more help down here."**

"**You mean you don't trust me anymore," he said miserably.**

**I didn't answer. I didn't know what I meant. I was too stunned by what I'd just done in battle to think clearly.**

"You could have told me that," Nico whined

"**Just go back to your father," I said, trying not to sound too harsh. "Work on him. You're the only person who might be able to get him to listen."**

"**That's a depressing thought." Nico sighed. "All right. I'll do my best. Besides, he's still hiding something from me about my mom. Maybe I can find out what."**

Zeus looked guilty for a moment,

"**Good luck. Now Mrs. O'Leary and I have to go."**

"**Where?" Nico said.**

**I looked at the cave entrance and thought about the long climb back to the world of the living. "To get this war started. It's time I found Luke."**

"Finished," Hades, said

**Hi there, Hope you like the chapter, thank you for reviewing, and tell me if you have any problems with my story I will correct it best I can and finally don't worry if there isn't much Jacob/Bella action well wait about 4 to 5 chapter and there will be ;)**

**PLEASE REVIEW! AND RECOMMEND TO OTHER TEAM JACOB FANS THANKS**

**Maleena xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	11. Chapter 11: Two Snakes Save My Life

**A/n: Disclaimer: I own nothing but Harry Emmet Black **

**Please don't hate me, I've been really busy, I had exams and my Grandma is in hospital, so I didn't really have time to update, I'm so sorry, I hope I can do it faster soon.**

"Hestia, do you want to read," Hades asked

"I don't mind Brother," she said taking the book from him

"**Two snakes save my life**," She began

"That's kind of backwards, because it's usually the snake your life is in danger from," Leo noted

"What did they save you from?" Poseidon asked, now more relaxed because Percy had the Achilles curse

"Erm…a God, an Olympian to be exact," Percy said

Poseidon just sighed; his son had the ability to piss off everyone

**I love New York. You can pop out of the Underworld in Central Park, hail a taxi, head down Fifth Avenue with a giant hellhound loping along behind you, and nobody even looks at you funny.**

"Percy you dummy, it was the mist, remember," Thalia sighed

**Of course, the Mist helped. People probably couldn't see Mrs. O'Leary, or maybe they thought she was a large, loud, very friendly truck.**

"I should have said poodle," Percy said to himself

Everyone looked confused

**I took the risk of using my mom's cell phone to call Annabeth for the second time. I'd called her once from the runnel but only reached her voice mail. I'd gotten surprisingly good reception, seeing as I was at the mythological center of the world and all, but I didn't want to see what my mom's roaming charges were going to be.**

"Oh per-lease, Sally is so nice I might as well give it to her for free," Hermes scoffed

Hera sighed; she had to tell him again that he shouldn't mess in mortal affairs

**This time, Annabeth picked up.**

"**Hey," I said. "You get my message?"**

"**Percy, where have you been? Your message said almost nothing! We've been worried sick!"**

"Percy, Nico if you retards take off again without telling anyone I swear I will slit your throats," Annabeth threatened

Percy and Nico nodded, gulping with obvious fear on their faces

Everyone laughed when they saw their expressions

"**I'll fill you in later," I said, though how I was going to do that I had no idea. "Where are you?"**

"**We're on our way like you asked, almost to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. But, Percy, what are you planning? We've left the camp virtually undefended, and there's no way the gods-"**

"**Trust me," I said. "I'll see you there."**

**I hung up. My hands were trembling. I wasn't sure if it was a leftover reaction from my dip in the Styx, or anticipation of what I was about to do. If this didn't work, being invulnerable wasn't going to save me from getting blasted to bits.**

"Dude, you should really let go of the pessimistic attitude, it bugs me, makes me want to think negative." Jacob said

"Sorry can't help it," Percy said

"Why aren't you a little ray of sunshine, because you think positive thoughts all the time, nothing is ever negative in your mind," Quil teased

Embry and Harry sniggered

Jacob punched Quil and then turned to the other two

"Oh no you don't Call, you won't corrupt my son," Jacob warned

"It's too late Dad, there're basically my Godfathers and when I'm not with Jeff, I'm with them, I know their jokes back to front, I even added some," Harry said

Jacob groaned and Quil and Embry smirked

"Who's Jeff?" Embry finally asked

"Sam's Son, he's a year older than me, but we are still best mates," Harry explained

Bella had listened to the whole conversation, and noticed how happy Jacob was looking, had he finally moved on, finding out he would imprint and fall in love with someone else in the future,

**It was late afternoon when the taxi dropped me at the Empire State Building. Mrs. O'Leary bounded up and down Fifth Avenue, licking cabs and sniffing hot dog carts. Nobody seemed to notice her, although people did swerve away and look confused when she came close.**

"Thank the Gods for the mist," Annabeth sighed

"You're welcome, OW!" Apollo said and Artemis slapped him

**I whistled for her to heel as three white vans pulled up to the curb. They said Delphi Strawberry Service, which was the cover name for Camp Half-Blood. I'd never seen all three vans in the same place at once, though I knew they shuttled **

**our fresh produce into the city.**

**The first van was driven by Argus, our many-eyed security chief. The other two were driven by harpies, who are basically demonic human/chicken hybrids with bad attitudes. We used the harpies mostly for cleaning the camp, but they did pretty well in midtown traffic too.**

"Reminds me of Ella, she's so much nicer, I wonder how her and Tyson are getting on," Hazel said

"Who's Ella," Piper asked

"Oh, this Harpy, she loves to read and I think Tyson has a crush on her," Hazel

"There's no doubt about it, she has a crush on him too," Frank said

Aphrodite cooed

**The doors slid open. A bunch of campers climbed out, some of them looking a little green from the long drive. I was glad so many had come: Pollux, Silena Beauregard, the Stoll brothers, Michael Yew, Jake Mason, Katie Gardner, and Annabeth, along with most of their siblings. Chiron came out of the van last. His horse half was compacted into his magic wheelchair, so he used the handicap lift. The Ares cabin wasn't here, but I tried not to get too angry about that. Clarisse was a stubborn idiot. End of story.**

Ares huffed; he had nothing to say about that though he had wished she would let it go and come to war,

**I did a head count: forty campers in all.**

**Not many to fight a war, but it was still the largest group of half-bloods I'd ever seen gathered in one place outside camp. Everyone looked nervous, and I understood why. We were probably sending out so much demigod aura that every monster in the northeastern United States knew we were here.**

"But, Kronos probably told them to wait until told," Athena said

**As I looked at their faces-all these campers I'd known for so many summers-a nagging voice whispered in my mind: One of them is a spy.**

Some of the Olympians winced

**But I couldn't dwell on that. They were my friends. I needed them.**

**Then I remembered Kronos's evil smile. You can't count on friends. They will always let you down.**

"Since when did you listen to Kronos," Thalia said

"Never, but it was a little strange that he said something like that," Percy said

"Well, you do have a point,"

**Annabeth came up to me. She was dressed in black camouflage with her Celestial bronze knife strapped to her arm and her laptop bag slung over her shoulder-ready for stabbing or surfing the Internet, whichever came first.**

**She frowned. "What is it?"**

"**What's what?" I asked.**

"**You're looking at me funny."**

**I realized I was thinking about my strange vision of Annabeth pulling me out of the Styx River. "It's, uh, nothing." I turned to the rest of the group. "Thanks for coming, everybody. Chiron, after you."**

"Chiron not leader anymore, you are," Jasper said

"How can you be sure," Percy asked suspiciously, how did he know that?

"Oh, that's easy, Chiron is just your trainer, teacher even but you are the child of the prophecy and your Dad is one of the big three and don't forget you were the one that call the campers," Jasper said

"Wow, that right, how do you know all this?" Percy asked

"I've had some time in the military,"

"Oh, that's cool,"

**My old mentor shook his head. "I came to wish you luck, my boy. But I make it a point never to visit Olympus unless I am summoned."**

"**But you're our leader."**

**He smiled. "I am your trainer, your teacher. That is not the same as being your leader. I will go gather what allies I can. It may not be too late to convince my brother centaurs to help. Meanwhile, you called the campers here, Percy. You are the leader."**

"Almost yet very similar to what I said," Jasper said

**I wanted to protest, but everybody was looking at me expectantly, even Annabeth.**

**I took a deep breath. "Okay, like I told Annabeth on the phone, something bad is going to happen by tonight. Some kind of trap. We've got to get an audience with Zeus and convince him to defend the city. Remember, we can't take no for an answer."**

"Well, I'm fighting so I'm gonna send someone to say no," Zeus said

Poseidon sighed

**I asked Argus to watch Mrs. O'Leary, which neither of them looked happy about.**

**Chiron shook my hand. "You'll do well, Percy. Just remember your strengths and beware your weaknesses."**

"Do you think he knew?" Annabeth said

"I Don't know? Maybe?" Percy suggested

**It sounded eerily close to what Achilles had told me. Then I remembered Chiron had taught Achilles. That didn't exactly reassure me, but I nodded and tried to give him a confident smile.**

"**Let's go," I told the campers.**

**A security guard was sitting behind the desk in the lobby, reading a big black book with a flower on the cover. He glanced up when we all filed in with our weapons and armor clanking. "School group? We're about to close up."**

"A big black book with a flower on the cover?" Athena said, she knew this book from somewhere

"New Moon!" Aphrodite gasped

Everyone just looked confused

Then four books with a note on them, dropped out of the sky and on to Aphrodite's lap

She read the note out

_Dear everyone _

_Well done Aphrodite! You guessed it, your next book is New Moon, and after that are The Lost Hero, Eclipse, The Son Of Neptune. In addition, Breaking Dawn (optional). You may read the blurbs _

_Enjoy! (In addition, **don't** kill or injure anyone while reading, no matter how much you want to, Jacob especially needs to be careful, because the books: New moon, Eclipse, and Breaking dawn may upset him)_

_Maleena _

Jacob was confused, why should he be careful? What would upset him?

Harry smirked; New Moon would drive Edward over the edge

Zeus narrowed his eyes suspiciously; did Poseidon break the oath twice as he did?

"Ok, why don't we read the blurbs after this chapter?" Aphrodite promised

Everyone nodded, Hestia began reading again

"**No," I said. "Six-hundredth floor."**

**He checked us out. His eyes were pale blue and his head was completely bald. I couldn't tell if he was human or not, but he seemed to notice our weapons, so I guess he wasn't fooled by the Mist.**

"No, wouldn't bring a complete mortal, he'd be clueless," Hermes said

"**There is no six-hundredth floor, kid." He said it like it was a required line he didn't believe. "Move along."**

**I leaned across the desk. "Forty demigods attract an awful lot of monsters. You really want us hanging out in your lobby?"**

**He thought about that. Then he hit a buzzer and the security gate swung open. "Make it quick."**

"Alright Percy, great threatening," Hermes said

"**You don't want us going through the metal detectors," I added.**

"**Um, no," he agreed. "Elevator on the right. I guess you know the way."**

**I tossed him a golden drachma and we marched ill rough.**

**We decided it would take two trips to get everybody up in the elevator. I went with the first group. Different elevator music was playing since my last visit-that old disco song "Stayin' Alive." A terrifying image flashed through my mind of Apollo in bell-bottom pants and a slinky silk shirt.**

Everyone laughed,

Apollo grumbled and glared at Percy

**I was glad when the elevator doors finally dinged open. In front of us, a path of floating stones led through the clouds up to Mount Olympus, hovering six thousand feet over Manhattan.**

**I'd seen Olympus several times, but it still took my breath away. The mansions glittered gold and white against the sides of the mountain. Gardens bloomed on a hundred terraces. Scented smoke rose from braziers that lined the winding streets. And right at the top of the snow-capped crest rose the main palace of the gods. It looked as majestic as ever, but something seemed wrong. Then I realized the mountain was silent-no music, no voices, no laughter.  
**

"Why would anyone be laughing or playing music in the middle of a war," Athena said

She got no answer

**Annabeth studied me. "You look . . . different," she decided. "Where exactly did you go?"**

**The elevator doors opened again, and the second group of half bloods joined us.**

"**Tell you later," I said. "Come on."**

**We made our way across the sky bridge into the streets of Olympus. The shops were closed. The parks were empty. A couple of Muses sat on a bench strumming flaming lyres, but their hearts didn't seem to be in it. A lone Cyclops swept the street with an uprooted oak tree. A minor godling spotted us from a balcony and ducked inside, closing his shutters.**

"They could at least said hello," Leo said

"Leo, they were depressed, there's a war on," Jason reminded

**We passed under a big marble archway with statues of Zeus and Hera on either side. Annabeth made a face at the queen of the gods.**

"**Hate her," she muttered.**

"I hate her too," Percy said agreeing with Annabeth, in undertone

"So do I, but at least she bought the two camps together" Jason said

"True,"

Mean while, Hera was glaring at Annabeth

"**Has she been cursing you or something?" I asked. Last year Annabeth had gotten on Hera's bad side, but Annabeth hadn't really talked about it since.**

"**Just little stuff so far," she said. "Her sacred animal is the cow, right?"**

"**Right."**

"**So she sends cows after me."**

**I tried not to smile. "Cows? In San Francisco?"**

"**Oh, yeah. Usually I don't see them, but the cows leave me little presents all over the place-in our backyard, on the sidewalk, in the school hallways. I have to be careful where I step."**

Everyone laughed; Hera looked smug, while Athena was glaring at her stepmother

"What did you do to piss her off," Thalia said quite happily

"I screamed at her, after we came back from the labyrinth quest,"

"Wow! It's already the war but she still hasn't let it go," Thalia said

"**Look!" Pollux cried, pointing toward the horizon. "What is that?"**

**We all froze. Blue lights were streaking across the evening sky toward Olympus like tiny comets. They seemed to be coming from all over the city, heading straight toward the mountain. As they got close, they fizzled out. We watched them for several minutes and they didn't seem to do any damage, but still it was strange.**

"**Like infrared scopes," Michael Yew muttered. "We're being targeted."**

"We're probably safe, I bet I told Aeolus to send his air protectors," Zeus assured

"**Let's get to the palace," I said.**

**No one was guarding the hall of the gods. The gold-and-silver doors stood wide open. Our footsteps echoed as we walked into the throne room.**

**Of course, "room" doesn't really cover it. The place was the size of Madison Square Garden. High above, the blue ceiling glittered with constellations. Twelve giant empty thrones stood in a U around a hearth. In one corner, a house-size globe of water hovered in the air, and inside swam my old friend the Ophiotaurus, half-cow, and half-serpent.**

"That's a good way to protect him, on Olympus, what's he called?" Athena approved and asked

"Bessie." Thalia said

"Bessie, you named him Bessie," Poseidon said in disbelief

"No, Percy did,"

"Percy," Sighed Poseidon

"**Moooo!" he said happily, turning in a circle.**

**Despite all the serious stuff going on, I had to smile. Two years ago, we'd spent a lot of time trying to save the Ophiotaurus from the Titans, and I'd gotten kind of fond of him. He seemed to like me too, even though I'd originally thought he was a girl and named him Bessie.**

"If, he's half sea serpent then shouldn't you be able to hear him?" Reyna said

"Yes, but the cow part stops that,"

"**Hey, man," I said. "They treating you okay?"**

"**Mooo," Bessie answered.**

**We walked toward the thrones, and a woman's voice said, "Hello again, Percy Jackson. You and your friends are welcome."**

**Hestia stood by the hearth, poking the flames with a stick. She wore the same kind of simple brown dress as she had before, but she was a grown woman now.**

"How come you didn't notice her before?" Leo asked

"I think she just appeared," Percy suggested

**I bowed. "Lady Hestia."**

**My friends followed my example.**

**Hestia regarded me with her red glowing eyes. "I see you went through with your plan. You bear the curse of Achilles."**

**The other campers started muttering among themselves: What did she say? What about Achilles?**

"Why couldn't you tell us before, then we would have understood," Annabeth said

"I was just focused on getting Zeus to listen to me,"

"**You must be careful," Hestia warned me. "You gained much on your journey. But you are still blind to the most important truth. Perhaps a glimpse is in order."**

"You are still blind to the most important truth," Reyna repeated, looking at Bella, Rosalie almost failed in hiding a smile and Edward glared at Reyna as if she was his enemy

Jacob groaned "Reyna, don't bother," he said putting his head in his hands

Bella stared back at Reyna understanding exactly what she was on about, but a little confused, why would Reyna say that if she liked Jacob too. But there was no point, Jacob would move on, and she? What would happen to her? She had to talk to Harry to know where her life led.

**Annabeth nudged me. "Um . . . what is she talking about?"**

**I stared into Hestia's eyes, and an image rushed into my mind: I saw a dark alley between red brick warehouses. A sign above one of the doors read RICHMOND IRONWORKS.**

Thalia and Annabeth gasped

**Two half bloods crouched in the shadows-a boy about fourteen and a girl about twelve. I realized with a start that the boy was Luke. The girl was Thalia, daughter of Zeus. I was seeing a scene from back in the days when they were on the run, before Grover found them.**

Athena, Zeus, and Hermes looked at the girls in sympathy

**Luke carried a bronze knife. Thalia had her spear and shield of terror, Aegis. Luke and Thalia both looked hungry and lean, with wild animal eyes, like they were used to being attacked.**

Athena, Zeus, and Hermes winced

"**Are you sure?" Thalia asked.**

**Luke nodded. "Something down here. I sense it."**

**A rumble echoed from the alley, like someone had banged on a sheet of metal. The half bloods crept forward.**

**Old crates were stacked on a loading dock. Thalia and Luke approached with their weapons ready. A curtain of corrugated tin quivered as if something were behind it.**

**Thalia glanced at Luke. He counted silently: One, two, and three! He ripped away the tin, and a little girl flew at him with a hammer.**

"Whoa, Annabeth is even fierce as a child," Nico said

Annabeth wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, but she still took it as one

"**Whoa!" Luke said.**

**The girl had tangled blond hair and was wearing flannel pajamas. She couldn't have been more than seven, but she would've brained Luke if he hadn't been so fast.**

**He grabbed her wrist, and the hammer skittered across the cement.**

**The little girl fought and kicked. "No more monsters! Go away!"**

"You sounded cute you know," Percy whispered to Annabeth

Annabeth blushed and kissed Percy on the cheek

"**It's okay!" Luke struggled to hold her. "Thalia put your shield up. You're scaring her."**

**Thalia tapped Aegis and it shrank into a silver bracelet. "Hey, it's all right," she said. "We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Luke."**

"**Monsters!"**

"Annie, I think it's obvious they're not monster," Nico laughed,

"Oh stop being a smartass Nico," Annabeth Retorted

"**No," Luke promised. "But we know all about monsters. We fight them too."**

**Slowly, the girl stopped kicking. She studied Luke and Thalia with large intelligent gray eyes.**

"**You're like me?" she said suspiciously.**

"**Yeah," Luke said. "We're . . . well, it's hard to explain, but we're monster fighters. Where's your family?"**

"**My family hates me," the girl said. "They don't want me. I ran away."**

Athena sighed, Annabeth had had it harsh, but she still held on, she was a tough girl

**Thalia and Luke locked eyes. I knew they both related to what she was saying.**

"**What's your name, kiddo?" Thalia asked.**

"**Annabeth."**

**Luke smiled. "Nice name. I tell you what, Annabeth-you're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you."**

"Wow, but I don't think giving a seven year old a knife is a good option," Emmet said

"We are Demigods Emmet," Annabeth reminded

**Annabeth's eyes widened. "You could?"**

"**Oh, yeah." Luke turned his knife and offered her the handle. "How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon? This is Celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer."**

**Maybe under most circumstances, offering a seven-year-old kid a knife would not be a good idea, but when you're a half-blood, regular rules kind of go out the window.**

"Hey, you copied me," Emmet accused, pointing at Percy

"But, I said it first," Percy stuck out his tongue

**Annabeth gripped the hilt.**

"**Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters," Luke explained. "They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armor. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever."**

**Annabeth stared at him with adoration. "I am!"**

**Thalia grinned. "We'd better get going, Annabeth. We have a safe house on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food."**

Athena was lost in thought and confused, why would Hestia be showing Percy this?

"**You're . . . you're not going to take me back to my family?" she said. "Promise?"**

**Luke put his hand on her shoulder. "You're part of our family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. I'm not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?"**

"**Deal!" Annabeth said happily.**

"**Now, come on," Thalia said. "We can't stay put for long!"**

"Yeah, or monsters would have found us because of our scent," Annabeth said

**The scene shifted. The three demigods were running through the woods. It must've been several days later, maybe even weeks. All of them looked beat up, like they'd seen some battles. Annabeth was wearing new clothes-jeans and an oversize army jacket.**

"**Just a little farther!" Luke promised. Annabeth stumbled, and he took her hand. Thalia brought up the rear, brandishing her shield like she was driving back whatever pursued them. She was limping on her left leg.**

Thalia, Annabeth, Zeus, Hermes, and Athena grimaced, it was the day Hermes had come, and the first time Luke had met him.

**They scrambled to a ridge and looked down the other side at a white Colonial house-May Castellan's place.**

"**All right," Luke said, breathing hard. "I'll just sneak in and grab some food and medicine. Wait here."**

"**Luke, are you sure?" Thalia asked. "You swore you'd never come back here. If she catches you-"**

"Poor Luke, I'm such a terrible Father," Hermes sighed angry with himself

"You aren't a bad father Hermes, you couldn't help Luke's Fate," Apollo assured

"**We don't have a choice!" he growled. "They burned our nearest safe house. And you've got to treat that leg wound."**

"**This is your house?" Annabeth said with amazement.**

"**It was my house," Luke muttered. "Believe me, if it wasn't an emergency-"**

"**Is your mom really horrible?" Annabeth asked. "Can we see her?"**

"Annabeth, you are too curious for your own good," Athena sighed

Annabeth gave her an apologetic smile

"**No!" Luke snapped.**

**Annabeth shrank away from him as though his anger surprised her.**

"**I . . . I'm sorry," he said. "Just wait here. I promise everything will be okay. Nothing's going to hurt you. I'll be back-"**

**A brilliant golden flash illuminated the woods. The demigods winced, and a man's voice boomed: "You should not have come home."**

Hermes winced; He had sounded like a dangerous person.

Apollo patted him on the back

**The vision shut off.**

**My knees buckled, but Annabeth grabbed me. "Percy! What happened?"**

"**Did . . . did you see that?" I asked.**

"**See what?"**

**I glanced at Hestia, but the goddess's face was expressionless. I remembered something she'd told me in the woods: If you are to understand your enemy Luke, you must understand his family. But why had she shown me those scenes?**

"That's what I want to know," Athena muttered

"**How long was I out?" I muttered.**

**Annabeth knit her eyebrows. "Percy, you weren't out at all. You just looked at Hestia for like one second and collapsed."**

"So basically everyone else was frozen in time," Jacob said

"Seems like it," Harry answered, looking at Percy for assistance, but Percy just shrugged

**I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I couldn't afford to look weak. Whatever those visions meant, I had to stay focused on our mission.**

"**Um, Lady Hestia," I said, "we've come on urgent business. We need to see-"**

"**We know what you need," a man's voice said. I shuddered, because it was the same voice I'd heard in the vision.**

"Gods, I know there's a war on and everything, but I'm acting so different, this isn't me," Hermes said

"Maybe the war is affecting you," Apollo suggested

**A god shimmered into existence next to Hestia. He looked about twenty-five, with curly salt-and-pepper hair and elfish features. He wore a military pilot's flight suit, with tiny bird's wings fluttering on his helmet and his black leather boots. In the crook of his arm was a long staff entwined with two living serpents.**

"The Caduceus, with George and Martha," Percy said

"Where are they now?" Annabeth asked

"Oh, I put them on vibrate, they were annoying me,"

"**I will leave you now," Hestia said. She bowed to the aviator and disappeared into smoke. I understood why she was so anxious to go. Hermes, the God of Messengers, did not look happy.**

"**Hello, Percy." His brow furrowed as though he was annoyed with me, and I wondered if he somehow knew about the vision, I'd just had. I wanted to ask why he'd been in May Castellan's house that night, and what had happened after he caught Luke. I remembered the first time I'd met Luke at Camp Half-Blood. I'd asked him if he'd ever met his father, and he'd looked at me bitterly and said, Once. But I could tell from Hermes's expression that this was not the time to ask.**

Hermes sighed, this book had so many bad things happening, how the hell did they live through it?

Apollo shivered, this book was so negative, nothing good was happening, he wanted happy and smiley, but all he got was bitter and cold, he was the sun God after all.

**I bowed awkwardly. "Lord Hermes."**

**Oh, sure, one of the snakes said in my mind. Don't say hi to us. We're just reptiles.**

**George, the other snake scolded. Be polite.**

"**Hello, George," I said. "Hey, Martha."**

**Did you bring us a rat? George asked.**

**George, stop it, Martha said. He's busy!**

**Too busy for rats? George said. That's just sad.**

"Wait, Two snakes save my life, was it Martha and George?" Athena asked working it out,

"Yep, they do save my life, I still owe them rats," Percy replied

**I decided it was better not to get into it with George. "Um, Hermes," I said. "We need to talk to Zeus. It's important."**

**Hermes's eyes were steely cold. "I am his messenger. May I take a message?"**

**Behind me, the other demigods shifted restlessly. This wasn't going as planned. Maybe if I tried to speak with Hermes in private . . .**

"Percy, you think you could just talk to a God like, he's your best friend and persuade him to take a message, then you are bonkers," Thalia sighed

"Thanks for the info Thal, but we already knew that," Nico said

Percy pouted and folded his arms

"Oh, just shut it Nico," Thalia retorted

"**You guys," I said. "Why don't you do a sweep of the city? Check the defenses. See who's left in Olympus. Meet Annabeth and me back here in thirty minutes."**

**Silena frowned. "But-"**

"**That's a good idea," Annabeth said. "Connor and Travis, you two lead."**

"Thank Goodness Annabeth is there coz Percy would have messed it up on his own," Thalia said

"I hate you, you have no faith in me at all, I like Jason better," Percy said babyishly

Jason smirked, and Thalia rolled her eyes

**The Stolls seemed to like that being handed an important responsibility right in front of their dad. They usually never led anything except toilet paper raids. "We're on it!" Travis said. They herded the others out of the throne room, leaving Annabeth and me with Hermes.**

"Herded? Are they animals?" Leo laughed, making a random joke

"**My lord," Annabeth said. "Kronos is going to attack New York. You must suspect that. My mother must have foreseen it."**

"Yes, I would have," Athena, agreed

"**Your mother," Hermes grumbled. He scratched his back with his caduceus, and George and Martha muttered Ow, ow, ow. "Don't get me started on your mother, young lady. She's the reason I'm here at all. Zeus didn't want any of us to leave the front line. But your mother kept pestering him nonstop, 'It's a trap, it's a diversion, blah, blah, blah.' She wanted to come back herself, but Zeus was not going to let his number one strategist leave his side while we're battling Typhon. And so naturally he sent me to talk to you."**

"So, I annoy you do I?" Athena yelled at Hermes

"Mum, calm down, this is the future," Annabeth reminded

"Oh, right, I'm sorry Hermes, I forgot, but you at least answer my question." Athena said

"It's ok Athena, and yes, you annoy me a bit," Hermes half-lied, the truth was she annoyed him a lot

"**But it is a trap!" Annabeth insisted. "Is Zeus blind?"**

**Thunder rolled through the sky.**

Zeus glared at Annabeth

"**I'd watch the comments, girl," Hermes warned. "Zeus is not blind or deaf. He has not left Olympus completely undefended."**

"**But there are these blue lights-"**

"**Yes, yes. I saw them. Some mischief by that insufferable goddess of magic, Hecate, I'd wager, but you may have noticed they aren't doing any damage. Olympus has strong magical wards. Besides, Aeolus, the King of the Winds, has sent his most powerful minions to guard the citadel. No one save the gods can approach Olympus from the air. They would be knocked out of the sky."**

"Huh! I told you," Zeus said

"Nobody doubted you brother," Hades said softly, like he was speaking to a five year old

Zeus glared at him

**I raised my hand. "Um . . . what about that materializing/teleporting thing you guys do?"**

"**That's a form of air travel too, Jackson. Very fast, but the wind gods are faster. No, if Kronos wants Olympus, he'll have to march through the entire city with his army and take the elevators! Can you see him doing this?"**

"No way, that would be ridiculous," Emmet and all the Half bloods, agreed

**Hermes made it sound pretty ridiculous-hordes of monsters going up in the elevator twenty at a time, listening to "Stayin' Alive." Still, I didn't like it.**

"I don't like it either, but it's a possibility," Poseidon said negatively

"**Maybe just a few of you could come back," I suggested.**

**Hermes shook his head impatiently. "Percy Jackson, you don't understand. Typhon is our greatest enemy."**

"**I thought that was Kronos."**

**The god's eyes glowed. "No, Percy. In the old days, Olympus was almost overthrown by Typhon. He is husband of Echidna-"**

Poseidon glared at Zeus, who ignored it

"**Met her at the Arch," I muttered. "Not nice."**

"**-and the father of all monsters. We can never forget how close he came to destroying us all; how he humiliated us! We were more powerful back in the old days. Now we can expect no help from Poseidon because he's fighting his own war. Hades sits in his realm and does nothing, and Demeter and Persephone follow his lead. It will take all our remaining power to oppose the storm giant. We can't divide our forces, nor wait until he gets to New York. We have to battle him now. And we're making progress."**

"Well, if you helped us then we wouldn't have this problem," Zeus roared at Hades and Demeter

As they were about to respond, Percy interrupted

"Uncle Zeus, lay off them, they do help, but later, and don't forget this is the future,"

Zeus grumbles but shuts up

"**Progress?" I said. "He nearly destroyed St. Louis."**

"**Yes," Hermes admitted. "But he destroyed only half of Kentucky. He's slowing down. Losing power."**

**I didn't want to argue, but it sounded like Hermes was trying to convince himself.**

"Maybe I was."

**In the corner, the Ophiotaurus mooed sadly.**

"**Please, Hermes," Annabeth said. "You said my mother wanted to come. Did she give you any messages for us?"**

"**Messages," he muttered. "'It'll be a great job,' they told me. ' Not much work. Lots of worshippers.' Hmph. Nobody cares what I have to say. It's always about other people's messages."  
**

TG, Harry, and the Demigods looked at Hermes in sympathy,

**Rodents, George mused. I'm in it for the rodents.**

**Shhh, Martha scolded. We care what Hermes has to say. Don't we, George?**

**Oh, absolutely. Can we go back to the battle now? I want to do laser mode again. That's fun.**

"George is hilarious," Nico, laughed

"**Quiet, both of you," Hermes grumbled.**

**The god looked at Annabeth, who was doing her big-pleading-gray-eyes thing.**

"Tends to do it a lot these days," Percy grumbled under his breath

"What does she plead for?" Jacob asked, The Wolves, the Cullens and Harry had all heard loud and clear

"Oh, she begs me to take her to boring old architecture places," Percy said forgetting that Annabeth was currently in the room

Annabeth slapped Percy repeatedly over the head as he shouted, "Ow, Ow, Ow, sorry, I didn't mean it, Ow!"

After a while she stopped and Percy rubbed his head

"**Bah," Hermes said. "Your mother said to warn you that you are on your own. You must hold Manhattan without the help of the gods. As if, I didn't know that. Why they pay her to be the wisdom goddess, I'm not sure."**

"**Anything else?" Annabeth asked.**

"**She said you should try plan twenty-three. She said you would know what that meant."**

"Do you guys have back up plans or something?" Quil asked

"No, it's just before Daedalus died he gave his laptop and it has many brilliant plans on there," Annabeth explained

"Oh,"

**Annabeth's face paled. Obviously, she knew what it meant, and she didn't like it. "Go on."**

"**Last thing." Hermes looked at me. "She said to tell Percy: 'Remember the rivers.' And, um, something about staying away from her daughter."**

**I'm not sure whose face was redder: Annabeth's or mine.**

"I'm warning you Percy, something is coming, I can feel it, and even though I look as if I'm happy with this relationship, but I'm not," Athena warned

Annabeth looked shocked while Percy shivered. He remembered the prophecy that used 'wisdom's daughter,' who could be Annabeth. **(A/n: The prophecy was mentioned in Son of Neptune, it goes like this: Wisdom's daughter walks alone as the mark of Athena burns through Rome)**

"**Thank you, Hermes," Annabeth said. "And I . . . I wanted to say . . . I'm sorry about Luke."**

**The god's expression hardened like he'd turned to marble. "You should've left that subject alone."**

**Annabeth stepped back nervously. "Sorry?"**

"**SORRY doesn't cut it!"**

"What happened? Why am I so angry?" Hermes said

"It'll be mentioned in a second," Annabeth sighed

**George and Martha curled around the caduceus, which shimmered and changed into something that looked suspiciously like a high-voltage cattle prod.**

"**You should've saved him when you had the chance," Hermes growled at Annabeth. "You're the only one who could have."**

"Why were you the only one? Did Luke come to you?" Thalia asked

Annabeth nodded, near tears

"Don't blame yourself," Thalia said hugging her

**I tried to step between them. "What are you talking about? Annabeth didn't-"**

"**Don't defend her, Jackson!" Hermes turned the cattle prod toward me. "She knows exactly what I'm talking about."**

"Gods, I could have helped him, but I didn't. I was afraid he would betray me again," Annabeth said

"Again? What do you mean by again," Athena asked

"On Thalia's first quest, I was kidnapped by the manticore, and Atlas had gotten free, and Luke was holding the sky and he begged me to help him but all he was doing was manipulating me into holding it." Annabeth said

"I can see why you didn't trust him anymore,"

"**Maybe you should blame yourself!" I should've kept my mouth shut, but all I could think about was turning his attention away from Annabeth. This whole time, he hadn't been angry with me. He'd been angry with her. "Maybe if you hadn't abandoned Luke and his mom!"**

"I didn't abandon them Percy, I knew what was coming and the was nothing I could do," Hermes spat, but his voice cracked near the end

Percy nodded

**Hermes raised his cattle prod. He began to grow until he was ten feet tall. I thought, Well, that's it.**

**But as he prepared to strike, George and Martha leaned in close and whispered something in his ear.**

**Hermes clenched his teeth. He lowered the cattle prod, and it turned back to a staff.**

"So your life was saved by snakes," Leo acknowledged

"What did they tell him?" Jason asked

"Oh, they told him about the Achilles curse,"

"**Percy Jackson," he said, "because you have taken on the curse of Achilles, I must spare you. You are in the hands of the Fates now. But you will never speak to me like that again. You have no idea how much I have sacrificed, how much-"**

**His voice broke, and he shrank back to human size. "My son, my greatest pride . . . my poor May . . ."**

**He sounded so devastated I didn't know what to say. One minute he was ready to vaporize us. Now he looked like he needed a hug.**

"Aww! I am so sorry, you've been through so much, even if you are a God," Aphrodite was crying

"**Look, Lord Hermes," I said. "I'm sorry, but I need to know. What happened to May? She said something about Luke's fate and her eyes-"**

**Hermes glared at me and my voice faltered. The look on his face wasn't really anger, though. It was pain. Deep, incredible pain.**

Aphrodite got up and hugged Hermes "This hug is tell you that everything will be alright,"

Hermes nodded wiping his own tears

"**I will leave you now," he said tightly. "I have a war to fight."**

**He began to shine. I turned away and made sure Annabeth did the same, because she was still frozen in shock.**

**Good luck, Percy, Martha the snake whispered.**

**Hermes glowed with the light of a supernova. Then he was gone.**

**Annabeth sat at the foot of her mother's throne and cried. I wanted to comfort her, but I wasn't sure how.**

"But what you did say didn't really help," Annabeth told Percy

"**Annabeth," I said, "it's not your fault. I've never seen Hermes act that way. I guess . . . I don't know . . . he probably feels guilty about Luke. He's looking for somebody to blame. I don't know why he lashed out at you. You didn't do anything to deserve that."**

Hermes glared at Percy

**Annabeth wiped her eyes. She stared at the hearth like it was her own funeral pyre.**

**I shifted uneasily. "Um, you didn't, right?"**

**She didn't answer. Her Celestial bronze knife was strapped to her arm-the same knife I'd seen in Hestia's vision. All these years, I hadn't realized it was a gift from Luke. I'd asked her many times why she preferred to fight with a knife instead of a sword, and she'd never answered me. Now I knew.**

"Why? I still don't get it," Emmet said

"It mean's she loves Luke, simple, she wants something of him to hold on too," Bella said, her hand subconsciously going to the wolf charm on the bracelet

"**Percy," she said. "What did you mean about Luke's mother? Did you meet her?"**

**I nodded reluctantly. "Nico and I visited her. She was a little . . . different." I described May Castellan, and the weird moment when her eyes had started to glow and she talked about her son's fate.**

"Gods, I hate mysteries, I hate it when nothing makes sense," Reyna complained

"Don't worry Rey, it'll be better by the end of the book," Jacob assured, adding 'Rey' for effect

And it worked, Bella hated this, she loved it when Jacob call her 'Bells' and she felt annoyed that Jacob was giving someone else a nickname

**Annabeth frowned. "That doesn't make sense. But why were you visiting-" Her eyes widened. "Hermes said you bear the curse of Achilles. Hestia said the same thing. Did you . . . did you bathe in the River Styx?"**

"**Don't change the subject."**

"**Percy! Did you or not?"**

"**Um . . . maybe a little."**

"Yeah, a little," Emmet snorted

**I told her the story about Hades and Nico, and how I'd defeated an army of the dead. I left out the vision of her pulling me out of the river. I still didn't quite understand that part, and just thinking about it made me embarrassed.**

**She shook her head in disbelief. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"**

"Well, he's Percy, danger is just a word to him," Rachel said

Poseidon winced, Percy pouted

"Honestly, Percy and Bella are so alike, there both danger magnets," Athena said

Everyone laughed, except Edward who was deep in thought

"How did you know, Bella is a danger magnet," He asked

"Oh, that's easy; I read your minds," She replied

That was weird coming from Athena when it was Edward who had asked it,

"Who thought that?" Edward looked at the Cullen's suspiciously

"Rosalie did," Athena, said, Edward glared at Rosalie who glared back

"Bella, why are confused? Your thoughts are confused. Why?" Aphrodite cut across

"Guess, the mind shield doesn't work on Goddesses then," Bella avoided the question

"Of course not, anyway, why are you confused?" She asked again

A blush crept on too Bella's cheeks, "I…Err…Well…Can I talk to you in private later, please Lady Aphrodite?" Bella said avoiding everyone's gaze and staring at the ground

"Absolutely, Bella!" She agreed, she knew the reason was too ask boy advice

"**I had no choice," I said. "It's the only way I can stand up to Luke."**

"**You mean . . . di immortales, of course! That's why Luke didn't die. He went to the Styx and . . . Oh no, Luke. What were you thinking?"**

"**So now you're worried about Luke again," I grumbled.**

"Somebody's jealous," Nico sang

"Well of course I was jealous, I had liked her so long, and she saw right through me, I was nothing but a friend," Percy admitted grumbling, Annabeth didn't comment,she knew he was doing it so Bella would realize her mistake

"Now that sounds familiar," Harry said pretending to think

"Too familiar, it's on the tip of my tongue, but I can't remember it," Quil said

"Yeah, who do we know, liked someone when the person only sees them as a friend," Embry said

Jacob growled, "Shut up, all three of you," He put as much power into his voice as possible, the three werewolves instantly shut up, they looked like they wanted to speak but couldn't

"Jacob, what did you do?" Reyna asked, staring at them with wide eyes

"I think…I just gave an alpha order," He realized

"OMG! Jacob's gonna be Alpha," Aphrodite squealed

"You can speak now," Jacob, added the same energy

As soon as the order was off, they immediately began complaining.

"No fair, I know you were gonna be Alpha, but you can't do that,

"Yeah Jake you can't stop from speaking, that's just stupid,"

"Dad, I can't believe you used an alpha order on me, you never have before,"

"Look, guys I'm sorry, I didn't know, it would come out like that," Jacob apologized

"No worries Jake, we were just messing," Quil said

**She stared at me like I'd just dropped from space. "What?"**

"**Forget it," I muttered. I wondered what Hermes had meant about Annabeth not saving Luke when she'd had the chance. Clearly, she wasn't telling me something. But at the moment, I wasn't in the mood to ask. The last thing I wanted to hear about was more of her history with Luke.**

Bella remembered the Boys previous comments, but she did do that, didn't she, she saw right through Jacob, she had used him to get to Edward, No wonder the Pack hated her, but they had still saved her life. She didn't deserve it, She didn't deserve Jacob as a Best friend, it was probably best if she stayed out of his life.

Aphrodite was tuned into Bella's thoughts, Bella's mind was already changing, directing towards Jacob and she just didn't know it yet.

"**The point is he didn't die in the Styx," I said. "Neither did I. Now I have to face him. We have to defend Olympus."**

**Annabeth was still studying my face, like she was trying to see differences since my swim in the Styx. "I guess you're right. My mom mentioned-"**

"**Plan twenty-three."**

"What's the point of numbers, why couldn't Daedalus call it Operation- Bring- Statues-to-life-!" Percy said

"Well, what if a spy or enemy was eavesdropping, then they would know our plans," Annabeth reminded

"Oh right, Good point,"

**She rummaged in her pack and pulled out Daedalus's laptop. The blue Delta symbol glowed on the top when she booted it up. She opened a few files and started to read.**

"**Here it is," she said. "Gods, we have a lot of work to do."**

"**One of Daedalus's inventions?"**

"**A lot of inventions . . . dangerous ones. If my mother wants me to use this plan, she must think things are very bad." She looked at me. "What about her message to you: 'Remember the rivers'? What does that mean?"**

"I work this one out later, for some reason I can never work out things when we need them," Percy stated

"Well, that's because you're Percy," Thalia said but Percy ignored her

**I shook my head. As usual, I had no clue what the gods were telling me. Which rivers was I supposed to remember? The Styx? The Mississippi?**

**Just then, the Stoll brothers ran in to the throne room.**

"**You need to see this," Connor said. "Now."**

"Why? What happened?"

**The blue lights in the sky had stopped, so at first I didn't understand what the problem was.**

**The other campers had gathered in a small park at the edge of the mountain. They were clustered at the guardrail, looking down at Manhattan. The railing was lined with those tourist binoculars, where you could deposit one golden drachma and see the city. Campers were using every single one.**

"Cool, that must be really high,"

**I looked down at the city. I could see almost everything from here-the East River and the Hudson River carving the shape of Manhattan, the grid of streets, the lights of skyscrapers, the dark stretch of Central Park in the north. Everything looked normal, but something was wrong. I felt it in my bones before I realized what it was.**

"**I don't . . . hear anything," Annabeth said.**

**That was the problem.**

"Why is that a problem, it is nighttime," Bella said

**Even from this height, I should've heard the noise of the city-millions of people bustling around, thousands of cars and machines-the hum of a huge metropolis. You don't think about it when you live in New York, but it's always there. Even in the dead of night, New York is never silent.**

**But it was now.**

"Okay that is creepy, what the hell is happening," Leo said getting creeped out

**I felt like my best friend had suddenly dropped dead.**

"**What did they do?" My voice sounded tight and angry. "What did they do to my city?"**

**I pushed Michael Yew away from the binoculars and took a look.**

"Hey, don't be mean to my son!" Apollo accused

"Sorry, Apollo but it's already happened,"

**In the streets below, traffic had stopped. Pedestrians were lying on the sidewalks, or curled up in doorways. There was no sign of violence, no wrecks, nothing like that. It was as if all the people in New York had simply decided to stop whatever they were doing and pass out.**

"**Are they dead?" Silena asked in astonishment.**

"Not dead, asleep," Rosalie said

The Cullens blinked at her

"You know, the prophecy line: To see the world in endless sleep," she explained

"Yeah, Rosalie's right," Athena, said

**Ice coated my stomach. A line from the prophecy rang in my ears: And see the world in endless sleep. I remembered Grover's story about meeting the god Morpheus in Central Park. You're lucky I'm saving my energy for the main event.**

"**Not dead," I said. "Morpheus has put the entire island of Manhattan to sleep. The invasion has started."**

"That's the end of the chapter," Hestia finished

"Okay, let's read the blurbs before we go off too bed," Aphrodite said

"This is New Moons,"

'**Shoot,' I muttered when the paper sliced my finger; I pulled it out to examine the damage. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut. It all happened so quickly then. 'No!' Edward roared . . . Dazed and disorientated, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm - into the fevered eyes of six suddenly ravenous vampires. **

**_For Bella Swan, there's only one thing more important to life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may just be beginning. . ._**

There was silence, the wolves, Bella and the Cullen's were speechless

"Holy Shit, this book about us," Bella was shocked

"It was when I left," Edward said, he too in shock

"It's funny how, I'm not mentioned huh," Jacob said struggling to hold in his anger

"Alright, next book, this is the lost Hero's,"

**After saving Olympus from the evil Titan lord, Kronos, Percy and friends have rebuilt their beloved Camp Half-Blood, where the next generation of demigods must now prepare for a chilling prophecy of their own: Seven half bloods shall answer the call, To storm or fire the world must fall. An oath to keep with a final breath, And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. Return to the world of Camp Half-Blood. Here, a new group of heroes will inherit a quest. But to survive the journey, they'll need the help of some familiar demigods.**

"Okay, another book about us," Nico said

"I guess the new group of heroes is us, I suppose," Leo pointed out

"Next Book, Eclipse,"

**In the dead silence, all the details suddenly fell into place for me with a burst of intuition. Something Edward didn't want me to know. Something that Jacob wouldn't have kept from me. Something that the Cullens and the wolves both in the woods, moving in hazardous proximity to each other. Something I'd been waiting for anyway. Something I knew would happen again, as much as I might wish never would.**

**It was never going to end, was it?**

**_'Bella?'_ **

**_Edward's soft voice came from behind me. I turned to see him spring lightly up the porch steps, his hair windblown from runnin. He pulled me into his arms at once, and kissed me again. His kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine-like he was afraid we had only so much time left to us._ **

**As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation approaching, Bella has one more decision to make life or death. However, which is which?**

"So I am mentioned in this one," Jacob grumbled, annoyed that he was only described as a best friend

Edward smirked; Bella had chosen him over the mutt now the world will see it.

"The Son of Neptune."

**This crazy messed up world of gods and monsters is Percy Jackson's reality, which pretty much sucks for him. **

**Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, God of the Sea, has woken from a very deep sleep and come face to face with two snake-haired ladies who refuse to die.**

**But they're the least of his problems. Because Percy finds himself at a camp for half-bloods, which doesn't ring any bells for him. There's just one name he remembers from his past. Annabeth.**

**Only one thing is certain - Percy's questing days aren't over. He and fellow demigods Frank and Hazel must face the most important quest of all: the Prophecy of Seven. If they fail, it's not just their camp at risk. Percy's old life, the gods, and the entire world might be destroyed . . .**

"Alright!" Hazel said, "We're in this one,"

"Yeah, it's when Percy went to camp Jupiter," Frank said

"Okay final book, Breaking Dawn, this one is optional,"

**When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone, you truly loved.  
To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which two tribes hangs.  
Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable consequences Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life - first discovered in **_**Twilight,**_** then scattered and torn in **_**New Moon**_** and **_**Eclipse -**_** seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed... forever?  
**

"That sounds kinda confusing, Passion for Edward and Connection with Jacob, What does that mean?" Bella said in frustration

Athena and Aphrodite looked at each other, they came to a 5 second decision that they decided they would tell everything about the future, everything that would happen in breaking dawn because, Breaking Dawn was about to be re-written.

**Please review!**


	12. Chapter 12: Breaking Dawn and Jealous Ed

**A/n: I own nothing but Harry**

**A/n: I am so so so so so so sorry for not updating, I have been busy as hell so please forgive me, I promise to update earlier and since you guys have been so patient, here is the chapter and I'm sorry but it's not a reading one more of a sort of break up…thank you for waiting! **

Third person POV

"Bella, Harry, Jacob, and Rosalie can you come with us?" Athena said, after a quiet discussion with Aphrodite

Edward clenched his teeth when Bella's name was said.

Rosalie looked exceptionally surprised, but got up anyway and the four followed the Goddesses out.

"First things first, Rosalie, I know you eavesdropped on us," Harry accused as soon as they were outside

Rosalie was confused, how did he know? Then it hit her. He was a werewolf and he had caught her scent

"But the question is: Can we trust you?" Aphrodite asked

Rosalie looked at Bella and Jacob for a second as they stood there looking uncomfortable and confused

"Yeah, you can trust me," she said

Athena turned to Bella "you know before when said you were confused, about Breaking Dawn, well I'm going to explain that to you,"

Bella knit her eyebrows "But why here? Why not in front of everyone?"

"It's best if I explain it just to you four," Athena answered

"Make that you three, because I already know," Harry pointed out

"Let me get this straight, we are under no circumstances reading Breaking Dawn, unless you want me to break up every relationship by dawn." Aphrodite hissed

"Aphrodite calm down, you see, in the beginning of Breaking Dawn, Bella, and Edward are engaged, and it is just days from the wedding. Jacob is M.I.A, because Edward sent him a wedding invite, which upsets him." Athena said looking at Jacob

"Yeah, I was going to Canada, I needed to get away," Jacob muttered

"I told him not too!" Bella hissed, "How could he directly defy me again!"

Jake snorted, turning his gaze to the ground

Bella was watching him with a pained look on her face, but he ignored her

"Anyway, He comes back on the wedding, and dances with Bella, she tells him that they were going to have sex on their honey moon and that gets him upset again, because he still loves her and doesn't want her hurt. So Sam has too drag him out," Athena turned her gaze Bella who looked shocked as she absorbed this information

Jacob began shaking; Aphrodite wrapped an arm around him to calm him down

"So, Bella pays no attention and she and Edward have sex, on the honeymoon and she gets pregnant, which according to science makes no sense because Edward's dead, and comes home. Jacob comes to see her, fearing her worst and almost attacks Edward, when he finds out, by this time the baby is growing and eating you inside out. But you won't have it abort."

"And, what's worse is you Rosalie, won't let Bella have it abort, even if it kills her," Aphrodite adds glaring at Rosalie, Jake growls

"Meanwhile, Sam finds out and thinks the baby is a threat, and against the treaty, so he plans to kill the Cullens,"

Rosalie and Bella gasped, Jacob looks shocked

"But Jacob protests and the Pack splits, Seth and Leah join Jacob's pack, to protect the Cullens, it gets worse when Rachel comes back and Paul imprints on her,"

Rosalie and Bella are staring at Jacob in shock, Harry is smirking

"As Bella's pregnancy goes on, she gets weaker and weaker, everything she eats and drinks she throws up and when she tries blood it stays down," Athena glared at Bella

Jacob growled, but Rosalie couldn't help but be glad that she could finally play the part of a mother.

"When the Birth almost kills her in the process, Bella is bit and changed; Jacob who is distraught by that time plans to kill Renesmee, the baby, but laying eyes on her the first, he imprints," Athena finished getting ready for the outburst

"WHAT!" they all scream

"Damit! Shit! You weren't lying when you told me that," Jacob cursed

"Oh my Goodness! If Harry's your son then, he's my grandson…" Bella trailed off when she saw Harry's face

"You don't get it Bella, I'm from the alternative universe, I am what would have been if you chose Jacob," He explained

"I need to sit down, I am so overwhelmed," Bella gasped, running her hands through her hair

"Save your overwhelmness for later, I'll just let you know: THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THAT IS HAPPENING!" Aphrodite shrieked, her voice making the windows vibrate

"After this chapter we will talk again, this conversation is over for now, Harry, Rosalie and Aphrodite let's go. Jacob and Bella. I believe you have some problems to figure out," and then all of them walked out leaving Jacob and Bella in an awkward silence.

Edward's POV

I gritted my teeth and dug my finger nails into the couch. When the Love Goddess and the Wisdom Goddess had instructed Rosalie, my Bella, the mutt and his son to leave. I thought about offering to go with them but the look on Carlisle's face shut me up completely. I wanted to break something. Kill someone. Some of the Demigod kids across from me looked afraid, and they were right to be. The room sat in a comfortable silence but the atmosphere was tense. Aggravatingly, I couldn't hear a word of what was going on outside, this had to be the Goddesses doing.

Just then, the large door opened and in everyone came. Everyone except Bella and the mutt.

"Where's Bella? Why did you leave Bella alone with the dog? That is foolish of you!" I screamed

All four of their faces fill up with anger; Rosalie is the one who speaks up

"Oh, just shut up Edward! Bella is perfectly safe with Jacob. More safe than he has ever been with you! So just shut the fuck up and let things be as they are!" She shrieked back

I was speechless; this was my own sister, why was she tossing away the love of my life to a dog? Then the answer came to me; she was jealous.

"I think you should be the one to shut up, you're just jealous. You are just jealous that I love Bella and not you! Don't lie to me. I see it in your mind all the time."

"No! You are the jealous one. You're jealous because your relationship with Bella isn't as carefree and fun like Jacob and Bella are. You're jealous, that even though Bella doesn't admit it, she feels suffocated with you. You smother her." She spat at me

"Oh, please, the dog is reckless and doesn't care whether she is hurt or not. I have her best interests at heart. She is mine. She always will be."

Rosalie was really wasting my time; I had to go see if MY Bella was ok. I had to make sure the mutt hadn't done anything to her

"Oh really. Best interests Eddie, now let me see, how about the time you broke her truck so she couldn't go down to La Push to see Jacob, or the time you had Alice kidnap her so she couldn't see Jacob, and if that's not jealousy I don't know what is," this time it was Aphrodite

"Stay out of this, this is non of your business," I state, trying to stay polite, but failing miserably

"Edward Cullen! Don't you dare tell me to stay out something to do with love, I am the love goddess!" she scolded

"Lady Aphrodite!" I hiss through gritted teeth "This matter is from our world! You can not interfere!"

"Why do you think you guys were sent here? Not just too read. Did you hear Maleena's note, it said, about mistakes. Moreover, the biggest mistake Bella made is falling in love with you! In addition, don't you dare tell me I'm wrong! Bella is scared, if she leaves you. You might commit suicide!" Aphrodite was on a roll, she had left me speechless

Just then, the door opened, and in Bella and the mutt holding hands, her face told me she was angry

I zoomed over to her, "Bella, my love! Come with me, let go of the dog,"

I watched the mutt began to loosen his grip on Bella's hand. Huh, he had finally admitted defeat, Bella was mine. Then I watched in shock as Bella tightened her grip as he began to pull away,

"Edward, did you send Jacob a wedding invitation?" she asked me

"Bella my love, you have to understand, I had too or he wouldn't have backed off, he wouldn't have stopped pestering you," I admitted, I couldn't lie to her

Her eyes filled with fury and she began breathing heavily. She was angry.

"What is your problem? Why isn't me choosing you enough? Do you have to shove it in his face? Isn't he hurt enough?" she shrieked in my face

"But love…" she cut me off

"No! Just No! Leave me alone! I'm beginning to rethink my decision about choosing you. I might have made the wrong choice!" With that, she let go of the dog's hand and stalked off going to sit by the other two mutts' with _him_ following.

I stood there standing, facing the door as the rejection dawned upon me. Bella was beginning to rethink her decision? No! She was mine!

"Um…I'm gonna take out for some fresh air, he's not himself at the minute," I heard Alice say

"Go ahead," Zeus consented

And then Alice led me through the door and I went along absentmindedly "Carry on reading," she called

**Review! Thank you for waiting for the chapter! You guys rock and thanks to all the reviews as well.**

**You know I might not make them read New Moon but probably Eclipse, I hope I got the brief line of Breaking Dawn right, I have only read it once and swore never to read it again.**

**Maleena**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

and P.S: Sorry, for updating so late, I hope y'all don't hate me ;D


	13. Chapter 13: I Buy Some Friends

**A/N: I own nothing but Harry, thanks for waiting! **

**Just a quick note to a **_**Guest **_**reviewer: I don't know what your problem is with my story because if you don't like it, don't read it. Maybe you hate it because I'm Team Jacob or maybe because I'm making it kind of anti Edward. As you know, I don't like Edward sparkle-pants. However, to admit he and Bella do **_**look**_** good together, look being the constructive word. That's what draw to the Twilight Saga in the first place. Now they disgust me.**

**What annoys me most is you called my story smelly, disgusting, crazy and weird (spelled wrong). Well I didn't tell you to read it; you read it out of your own interest and it's not my fault that you don't like it. I fortunately do have people who like it and if you don't, I have two words for you: FUCK OFF**

**Notyourbusiness: ****as I clearly stated in the summary, this is a TEAM JACOB story, so Jacob and Bella will end up together. As you can see from my profile, other stories and favourites that I am a WOLF GIRL and always will be! I'm sorry but if you don't like the pairing, go find another story because there are a thousand other Last Olympian ones. Another thing, I am sure there are other TEAM Edward's reading this and I'm making sure I tone down how anti Edward I make this. Thank You! **

**In addition, to everyone else, I love you guys for being so supportive that I keep writing, I am terribly sorry you had to sit thorough that. I did in fact make it clear in the summary that Jacob and Bella would be brought together. However, **_**some people (Look up) **_**are blind or ignorant. Thanks again for all the amazing reviews, Story Alerts and Favourites. VIRTUAL WOLF and GODLY HUGS FOR YOU ALL! Read on….and enjoy!**

Silence. The room was filled with an awkward silence. Everyone glanced around at each other unsure of what to say. Nobody said a word about what had just happened. Leo, Nico, and Emmet rummaged through their minds to find something funny to say, but nothing. It was blank. The tension was making it hard to concentrate. Then finally and thankfully, Athena broke it.

"Ares, it's your turn to read," Athena told him

"Do I have too?" he complained

"Yes!"

"Fine," he muttered, snatching the book from her

"**I buy some new friends**," he began

**Mrs. O'Leary was the only one happy about the sleeping city.**

**We found her pigging out at an overturned hot dog stand while the owner was curled up on the sidewalk, sucking his thumb.**

"Just like Percy does," Nico said, attempting to break the tense atmosphere

"I do not!" Percy denied unconvincingly

"Err…yeah you do." Annabeth confirmed

Percy folded his arms and grumbled something under his breath

**Argus was waiting for us with his hundred eyes wide open. He didn't say anything. He never does. I guess that's because he supposedly has an eyeball on his tongue. But his face made it clear he was freaking out.**

"Who wouldn't be freaking out in that situation?" Thalia said

**I told him what we'd learned in Olympus, and how the gods would not be riding to the rescue. Argus rolled his eyes in disgust, which looked pretty psychedelic since it made his whole body swirl.**

"**You'd better get back to camp," I told him. "Guard it as best you can."**

"Yeah, you should have asked the Ares cabin to help you guard," Rosalie said

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," Percy said

**He pointed at me and raised his eyebrow quizzically.**

"**I'm staying," I said.**

**Argus nodded, like this answer satisfied him. He looked at Annabeth and drew a circle in the air with his finger.**

"**Yes," Annabeth agreed. "I think it's time."**

"**For what?" I asked.**

"I hate it when you guys hide things from me," Percy pouted, still in a bad mood

**Argus rummaged around in the back of his van. He brought out a bronze shield and passed it to Annabeth. It looked pretty much standard issue-the same kind of round shield we always used in capture the flag. But when Annabeth set it on the ground, the reflection on the polished metal changed from sky and buildings to the Statue of Liberty-which wasn't anywhere close to us.**

"**Whoa," I said. "A video shield."**

"Cool!" Quil said, wondering about where he could get one

"**One of Daedalus's ideas," Annabeth said. "I had Beckendorf make this before-" She glanced at Silena. "Um, anyway, the shield bends sunlight or moonlight from anywhere in the world to create a reflection. You can literally see any target under the sun or moon, as long as natural light is touching it. Look."**

**We crowded around as Annabeth concentrated. The image zoomed and spun at first, so I got motion sickness just watching it. We were in the Central Park Zoo, then zooming down East 60th, past Bloomingdale's, then turning on Third Avenue.**

"That really is useful," Carlisle said, rather distracted

"**Whoa," Connor Stoll said. "Back up. Zoom in right there."**

"**What?" Annabeth said nervously. "You see invaders?"**

"**No, right there-Dylan's Candy Bar." Connor grinned at his brother. "Dude, it's open. And everyone is asleep. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"**

"Typical Stolls, only they would loot in the middle of a war. They really are Hermes's Sons!" Demeter scolded, throwing her hands up in the air

"I know, I'm so proud," Hermes beamed, looking like the proud father he wasn't

"**Connor!" Katie Gardner scolded. She sounded like her mother, Demeter. "This is serious. You are not going to loot a candy store in the middle of a war!"**

"Said like a true child of Demeter," Demeter said proudly

"**Sorry," Connor muttered, but he didn't sound very ashamed.**

**Annabeth passed her hand in front of the shield, and another scene popped up: FDR Drive, looking across the river at Lighthouse Park.**

"**This will let us see what's going on across the city," she said. "Thank you, Argus. Hopefully we'll see you back at camp . . . someday."**

"Annie, don't be so pessimistic, that's Percy's job," Nico said

"Shut up Nico," Annabeth said through gritted teeth as Percy pouted

**Argus grunted. He gave me a look that clearly meant Good luck; you'll need it, and then climbed into his van. He and the two harpy drivers swerved away, weaving around clusters of idle cars that littered the road.**

"That's still better than Alice's driving," Emmet pointed out,

The Cullens rolled their eyes

**I whistled for Mrs. O'Leary, and she came bounding over.**

"**Hey, girl," I said. "You remember Grover? The satyr we met in the park?"**

"**WOOF!"**

**I hoped that meant Sure I do! And not, do you have more hot dogs?**

"Mrs O' Leary isn't that dumb Percy," Thalia remarked, rolling her eyes

"How was I supposed to know? It not like I speak dog," Percy defended

"Hey, do you guys speak dog?" Nico asked the Wolves

"Really Nico?" Thalia retorted before they could respond,

"Why are you asking such a stupid question? Sure, they're telepathic with the Pack. But speaking dog? Are you delusional? It's impossible!" Thalia said, smacking him on the head

"Wait a second. How do you know that? How do you know they're telepathic with the Pack," Aphrodite asked

Thalia stiffened, and her cheeks turn read.

"OMG! You've read The Twilight Saga! Didn't you!" Aphrodite realised

"I…err…" Thalia was speechless

"Thal, tell me it isn't true," Annabeth pleaded, horror evident in her eyes

"It isn't true," Thalia said

"Now tell me the truth!" Annabeth demanded, knowing that she was lying

Thalia sighed, "Fine…Yes…it's true," She muttered

"Thalia, how could you? You've shamed me! You told me you weren't into romance novels! How could you lie to me like that! I'm not speaking to you!" Annabeth gasped folding her arms and turning away from Thalia who was still red in the face.

"I don't know whether I should be honored or not that you know my life story," Bella commented looking uncomfortable

"Can I read now?" Ares grumbled

"**I need you to find him," I said. "Make sure he's still awake. We're going to need his help. You got that. Find Grover!"**

**Mrs. O'Leary gave me a sloppy wet kiss, which seemed kind of unnecessary. Then she raced off north.**

"Kisses are never unnecessary," Aphrodite said, glaring at Percy

"I bet when Annie kisses you it's never unnecessary," Nico stated, waggling his eyebrows

Percy and Annabeth turned red in the face, rolling their eyes and sighing

**Pollux crouched next to a sleeping policeman. "I don't get it. Why didn't we fall asleep too? Why just the mortals?"**

"**This is a huge spell," Silena Beauregard said. "The bigger the spell, the easier it is to resist. If you want to sleep millions of mortals, you've got to cast a very thin layer of magic. Sleeping demigods is much harder."**

**I stared at her. "When did you learn so much about magic?"**

**Silena blushed. "I don't spend all my time on my wardrobe."**

"Yeah, my kids are smart too!" Aphrodite said proudly, looking at Athena slightly accusingly

Athena rolled her eyes

"**Percy," Annabeth called. She was still looking at the shield. "You'd better see this."**

**The bronze image showed Long Island Sound near La Guardia. A fleet of a dozen speedboats raced through the dark water toward Manhattan. Each boat was packed with demigods in full Greek armor. At the back of the lead boat, a purple banner emblazoned with a black scythe flapped m the night wind. I'd never seen that design before, but it wasn't hard to figure out: the battle flag of Kronos.**

"An entire fleet? How did you beat that?" Piper asked

"Team work?" Percy offered lamely, making it sound like a question

"**Scan the perimeter of the island," I said. "Quick."**

**Annabeth shifted the scene south to the harbor. A Staten Island Ferry was plowing through the waves near Ellis Island. The deck was crowded with dracaenae and a whole pack of hellhounds. Swimming in front of the ship was a pod of marine mammals. At first, I thought they were dolphins. Then I saw their doglike faces and the swords strapped to their waists, and I realized they were telkhines-sea demons.**

"Whoa, half dog and sea demon?" Embry said, astounded "We don't have that advantage under water,"

**The scene shifted again: the Jersey shore, right at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. A hundred assorted monsters were marching past the lanes of stopped traffic: giants with clubs rogue Cyclopes, a few fire-spitting dragons, and just to rub it in, a World War II-era Sherman tank, pushing cars out of its way as it rumbled into the tunnel.**

"Shit! That's bad. There's too many!" Jason said wondering how they finished them all off

"**What's happening with the mortals outside Manhattan?" I said. "Is the whole state asleep?"**

**Annabeth frowned. "I don't think so, but it's strange. As far as I can tell from these pictures, Manhattan is totally asleep. Then there's like a fifty-mile radius around the island where time is running really, really slow. The closer you get to Manhattan, the slower it is."**

"That's clever;" Jacob, acknowledged, "then you can fight on clear ground without any humans seeing."

**She showed me another scene-a New Jersey highway. It was Saturday evening, so the traffic wasn't as bad as it might've been on a weekday. The drivers looked awake, but the cars were moving at about one mile per hour. Birds flew overhead in slow motion.**

"**Kronos," I said. "He's slowing time."**

"**Hecate might be helping," Katie Gardner said. "Look how the cars are all veering away from the Manhattan exits, like they're getting a subconscious message to turn back."**

"At least we know this time not to neglect minor Gods and their kids to keep them on our side," Athena said looking pointedly at Zeus who cringed slightly under her piercing gaze but hid it.

"**I don't know." Annabeth sounded really frustrated. She hated not knowing. "But somehow they've surrounded Manhattan in layers of magic. The outside world might not even realize something is wrong. Any mortals coming toward Manhattan will slow down so much they won't know what's happening."**

"Mortals are oblivious," Hades commented, looking bored

"Hey!" Bella and Rachel complained about the insult together

"**Like flies in amber," Jake Mason murmured.**

**Annabeth nodded. "We shouldn't expect any help coming in."**

**I turned to my friends. They looked stunned and scared, and I couldn't blame them. The shield had shown us at least three hundred enemies on the way. There were forty of us. And we were alone.**

"40 vs. 300, you're all gonna die!" Apollo said in horror dramatically

"Err….Apollo, we're all sitting here," Thalia pointed out

"No! You could be all dead and from the underworld sent here just to read," He pointed out

The Olympians all stiffened and paled. Apollo had a point. They could be dead. Nobody but the Demigods what happened at the end. In addition, the Olympians were all now dreading to find out. Annabeth noticed the change in their demeanours and quickly gave them reassurance.

"Don't worry guys, Apollo was just being dramatic, we are all alive," She assured

Apparently, The Olympians did not relax. They were still a bit tense, for all they knew; Annabeth could be lying to make them feel better.

"But 40 vs. 300, that's unbalanced, where are my hunters? They should be helping!" Artemis said, trying to hide the worry that showed the Demigods that she actually cared.

"I mean it, don't worry. The hunters will arrive soon and Percy has Achilles," Annabeth reassured

"**All right," I said. "We're going to hold Manhattan."**

**Silena tugged at her armor. "Um, Percy, Manhattan is huge."**

"**We are going to hold it," I said. "We have to."**

"If Clarisse and her friends would have help, they wouldn't be in that situation," Athena grumbled the Ares who ignored her and kept reading

"**He's right," Annabeth said. "The gods of the wind should keep Kronos's forces away from Olympus by air, so he'll try a ground assault. We have to cut off the entrances to the island."**

"**They have boats," Michael Yew pointed out.**

**An electric tingle went down my back. Suddenly I understood Athena's advice: Remember the rivers.**

"Of course, my advice always works," Athena, said smugly,

"Arrogant and bigheaded," Apollo muttered under his breath

Unfortunately, Athena heard and clicked her fingers. A dozen owls appeared out of nowhere and began pecking at Apollo's head.

"OW! I'm sorry. Call them off, OW. Please call them off!" Apollo begged, Athena merely ignored him

"**I'll take care of the boats," I said.**

**Michael frowned. "How?"**

"**Just leave it to me," I said. "We need to guard the bridges and tunnels. Let's assume they'll try a midtown or downtown assault, at least on their first try. That would be the most direct way to the Empire State Building. Michael, take Apollo's cabin to the Williamsburg Bridge. Katie, Demeter's cabin takes the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Grow thorn bushes and poison ivy in the tunnel. Do whatever you have to do, but keep them out of there! Conner, take half of Hermes cabin and cover the Manhattan Bridge. Travis, you take the other half and cover the Brooklyn Bridge. And no stopping for looting or pillaging!"**

"Wow! Percy, I'm impressed, you make a good leader," Piper acknowledged

He just blushed and looked down in response.

Annabeth glared at Piper while Jason glowered at Percy.

Aphrodite sighed happily, as she felt the jealously streaming around the room. The was never anything wrong with a bit of competition

"**Awwww!" the whole Hermes cabin complained.**

"**Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel."**

"**Oh my gods," one of her sisters said. "Fifth Avenue is so on our way! We could accessorize, and monsters, like, totally hate the smell of Givenchy."**

"I don't get why though?" Aphrodite said confused "It smells amazing!" Aphrodite pulled out a bottle, sprayed herself with it, and then clicked her fingers as several bottles of Givenchy appeared and smothered the room in its scent. The Demigods, Wolves, and humans began coughing and spluttering, the Cullens covered their noses in disgust.

"Gaaa! My eyes! It burns! It burns!" Embry screamed

"Aahh! It's almost as bad as a leech!" Quil said covering his nose

Zeus sighed and clapped his hands twice, and then four huge fans expanded from either side of the room and blew away the perfume while Aphrodite pouted.

"**No delays," I said. "Well . . . the perfume thing, if you think it'll work."**

**Six Aphrodite girls kissed me on the cheek in excitement.**

"Jealous Annie?" Nico said smirking

"No," Annabeth said simply

Nico's eyes widened "Yes, you are!"

"No I'm not."

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not."

"Are!"

"Not."

"Are!"

"Not."

"Are!"

"Not."

"Are!"

"Not."

"Are!"

"ENOUGH!" Zeus boomed, "Ares carry on,"

"It's like you want me to be jealous," Annabeth muttered

Nico glowered at her

"**All right, enough!" I closed my eyes, trying to think of what I'd forgotten. "The Holland Tunnel. Jake, take the Hephaestus cabin there. Use Greek fire, set traps. Whatever you've got."**

**He grinned. "Gladly. We've got a score to settle. For Beckendorf!"**

**The whole cabin roared in approval.**

"**The 59th Street Bridge," I said. "Clarisse-"**

Athena glowered at Ares

**I faltered. Clarisse wasn't here. The whole Ares cabin, curse them, was sitting back at camp.**

"I'll teach you to curse my cabin boy," Ares growled to Percy

"It's my fault Clarisse is so stubborn!" Percy shot back

"I'm a good boy, you can't take me on." Ares growled, clearly forgetting about last time

"Already have…" Percy sang, sticking his tongue out

Poseidon beamed at his Son's courage.

"**We'll take that," Annabeth stepped in, saving me from an embarrassing silence. She turned to her siblings. "Malcolm, take the Athena cabin, activate plan twenty-three along the way, just like I showed you. Hold that position."**

"**You got it."**

"**I'll go with Percy," she said. "Then we'll join you, or we'll go wherever we're needed."**

**Somebody in the back of the group said, "No detours, you two."**

"Maybe it is bad for you two to go together," Athena said deep in thought

"Mum," Annabeth sighed "It's already happened,"

**There were some giggles, but I decided to let it pass.**

"**All right," I said. "Keep in touch with cell phones."**

"**We don't have cell phones," Silena protested.**

**I reached down, picked up some snoring lady's BlackBerry, and tossed it to Silena. "You do now. You all know Annabeth's number, right? If you need us, pick up a random phone and call us. Use it once, drop it, and then borrow another one if you have to. That should make it harder for the monsters to zero in on you."**

"Cool! I wonder if that can be used in reverse?" Quil said deep in thought

"And why do you want to use it in reverse?" Jacob asked dreading the answer

"Beccccccaaaaause!" he drawled out the word, "if a leech is on the phone, we can get him and catch him off guard. We can also find them," He said like it was obvious

Harry, Embry and Jacob looked at each other and exhaled, Quil was a lost cause.

**Everyone grinned as though they liked this idea.**

**Travis cleared his throat. "Uh, if we find a really nice phone-"**

"**No, you can't keep it," I said.**

"**Aw, man."**

"Boys," Artemis and Athena grumbled under their breaths

"**Hold it, Percy," Jake Mason said. "You forgot the Lincoln Tunnel."**

**I bit back a curse. He was right. A Sherman tank and a hundred monsters were marching through that tunnel right now, and I'd positioned our forces everywhere else.**

**Then a girl's voice called from across the street: "How about you leave that to us?"**

"Finally, my hunters are here! Now all shall be saved!" Artemis sighed dramatically looking relieved

**I'd never been happier to hear anyone in my life. A band of thirty adolescent girls crossed Fifth Avenue. They wore white shirts, silvery camouflage pants, and combat boots. They all had swords at their sides, quivers on their backs, and bows at the ready. A pack of white timber wolves milled around their feet, and many of the girls had hunting falcons on their arms.**

"Wolves? You keep Wolves?" Jacob asked Thalia

"Yeah, I love Wolves!" Thalia said, "They are such fierce predators just so beautiful at the same time,"

"Yeah! Wolves Rule!" Quil cheered, throwing his arms in the air

The Demigods hide their sniggers at Quil stupidity

"I know they rule, now shut up," Harry told Quil smacking the back of his head

**The girl in the lead had spiky black hair and a black leather jacket. She wore a silver circlet on her head like a princess's tiara, which didn't match her skull earrings or her Death to Barbie T-shirt showing a little Barbie doll with an arrow through its head.**

"Barbie? Ergh! I hate Barbie!" Rosalie exclaimed

"You look like her," Thalia pointed out

"Yeah, I know that's why I hate her," Rosalie explained, "They copied me,"

"**Thalia!" Annabeth cried.**

**The daughter of Zeus grinned. "The Hunters of Artemis, reporting for duty."**

**There were hugs and greetings all around . . . or at least Thalia was friendly. The other Hunters didn't like being around campers, especially boys, but they didn't shoot any of us, which for them was a pretty warm welcome.**

"Warm? More like Vampire ice-cold," Quil said, pretending to shiver

"**Where have you been the last year?" I asked Thalia. "You've got like twice as many Hunters now!"**

**She laughed. "Long, long story. I bet my adventures were more dangerous than yours, Jackson."**

"Naaa, Percy's are ten times more dangerous!" Nico said

"**Complete lie," I said.**

"**We'll see," she promised. "After this is over, you, Annabeth, and me: cheeseburgers and fries at that hotel on West 57th."**

"**Le Parker Meridien," I said. "You're on. And Thalia thanks."**

**She shrugged. "Those monsters won't know what hit them. Hunters, move out!"**

**She slapped her silver bracelet, and the shield Aegis spiraled into full form. The golden head of Medusa molded in the center was so horrible, the campers all backed away. **

"See? That how horrible you are! You did that to her!" Apollo shouted at Athena, still angry about the owls, which had now disappeared

"Apollo what would you do if you saw people making out in your temple?" Athena asked, glaring at Poseidon who was avoiding her eyes

"Easy, I burn them," Apollo said without a beat

"See, at least I let her live,"

"Live?" Poseidon scoffed

Athena glowered at him.

**The Hunters took off down the avenue, followed by their wolves and falcons, and I had a feeling the Lincoln Tunnel would be safe for now.**

"For now?" Thalia said glaring at Percy

"Yeah, you can still die in battle," Percy pointed out

"Well, Percy I' m the daughter of Zeus and the lieutenant of Artemis, I think I have a chance,"

"**Thank the gods," Annabeth said. "But if we don't blockade the rivers from those boats, guarding the bridges and tunnels will be pointless."**

"**You're right," I said.**

**I looked at the campers, all of them grim and determined. I tried not to feel like this was the last time I'd ever see them all together.**

"Good Percy, you're improving!" Nico beamed at Percy

"What am I improving, Nico?" Percy deadpanned, repressing the urge to roll his eyes

"On your optimistic side," Nico said as if it was obvious

Percy exhaled and palm-faced.

"**You're the greatest heroes of this millennium," I told them. "It doesn't matter how many monsters come at you. Fight bravely, and we will win." I raised Riptide and shouted, "FOR OLYMPUS!"**

"FOR OLYMPUS!" Apollo echoed

**They shouted in response, and our forty voices echoed off the buildings of Midtown. For a moment, it sounded brave, but it died quickly in the silence of ten million sleeping New Yorkers.**

**Annabeth and I would've had our pick of cars, but they were all wedged in bumper-to-bumper traffic. None of the engines was running, which was weird. It seemed the drivers had had time to turn off the ignition before they got too sleepy. Or maybe Morpheus had the power to put engines to sleep as well. Most of the drivers had apparently tried to pull to the curb when they felt themselves passing out, but still the streets were too clogged to navigate.**

"That was smart," Athena, said approving

**Finally, we found an unconscious courier leaning against a brick wall, still straddling his red Vespa. We dragged him off the scooter and laid him on the sidewalk.**

"**Sorry, dude," I said. With any luck, I'd be able to bring his scooter back. If I didn't, it would hardly matter, because the city would be destroyed.**

"Sigh and I thought you had improved," Nico pouted

Percy rolled his eyes and then shook his head.

**I drove with Annabeth behind me holding on to my waist. We zigzagged down Broadway with our engine buzzing through the eerie calm. The only sounds were occasional cell phones ringing-like they were calling out to each other, as if New York had turned into a giant electronic aviary.**

**Our progress was slow. Every so often we'd come across pedestrians who'd fallen asleep right in front of a car, and we'd move them just to be safe. Once we stopped to extinguish a pretzel vendor's cart that had caught on fire. A few minutes later, we had to rescue a baby carriage that was rolling aimlessly down the street. It turned out there was no baby in it-just somebody's sleeping poodle. Go figure. We parked it safely in a doorway and kept riding.**

"Well, at least you're helping," Bella, said trying to find the good side as usual.

**We were passing Madison Square Park when Annabeth said, "Pull over."**

**I stopped in the middle of East 23rd. Annabeth jumped off and ran toward the park. By the time I caught up with her, she was staring at a bronze statue on a red marble pedestal. I'd probably passed it a million times but never really looked at it.**

**The dude was sitting in a chair with his legs crossed. He wore an old-fashioned suit-Abraham Lincoln style-with a bow tie and long coattails and stuff. Bunches of bronze books were piled under his chair. He held a writing quill in one hand and a big metal sheet of parchment in the other.**

"**Why do we care about . . ." I squinted at the name on the pedestal. "William H. Steward?"**

"Seward," Athena corrected, glowering at Percy who purposely avoided her gaze

"**Seward," Annabeth corrected. "He was a New York governor. Minor demigod-son of Hebe, I think. But that's not important. It's the statue I care about."**

**She climbed on a park bench and examined the base of the statue.**

"**Don't tell me he's an automaton," I said.**

"In fact, most of them are," Hephaestus said

**Annabeth smiled. "Turns out most of the statues in the city are automatons. Daedalus planted them here just in case he needed an army."**

"Awesome!" Nico exclaimed, eyes wide

"**To attack Olympus or defend it?"**

**Annabeth shrugged. "Either one. That was plan twenty-three. He could activate one statue and it would start activating its brethren all over the city, until there was an army. It's dangerous, though. You know how unpredictable automatons are."**

"**Uh-huh," I said. We'd had our share of bad experiences with them. "You're seriously thinking about activating it?"**

"Yeah, she's Annabeth, she never goes back on her word," Thalia said, smiling at Annabeth

Annabeth looked away from Thalia's gaze still mad about Twilight thing. Thalia had a way of making you forgive her by looking in her eyes. She did it unintentionally but Annabeth fell for it every time.

"**I have Daedalus's notes," she said. "I think I can . . . Ah, here we go."**

**She pressed the tip of Seward's boot, and the statue stood up, its quill and paper ready.**

"**What's he going to do?" I muttered. "Take a memo?"**

"**Shh," Annabeth. "Hello, William."**

"**Bill," I suggested.**

"**Bill . . . Oh, shut up," Annabeth told me. The statue tilted its head, looking at us with blank metal eyes.**

"First you listen and then you tell him to shut up? What type of person are you?" Emmet complained

"Shut up Emmet." Annabeth said not even glancing at him

**Annabeth cleared her throat. "Hello, er, Governor Seward. Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Defend Manhattan. Begin Activation."**

**Seward jumped off his pedestal. He hit the ground so hard his shoes cracked the sidewalk. Then he went clanking off toward the east.**

"**He's probably going to wake up Confucius," Annabeth guessed.**

"**What?" I said.**

"**Another statue, on Division. The point is, they'll keep waking each other up until they're all activated."**

"Activated being the key word," Nico said

"**And then?"**

"**Hopefully, they defend Manhattan."**

"Hopefully being the key word,"

"**Do they know that we're not the enemy?"**

"**I think so."**

"Think being the key-"

"Nico!" Thalia interrupted, "Stop it,"

"Make me!" Nico criticized

"Sure, I'll chop your head off so you can't speak!" Thalia threatened

Nico actually looked afraid, "Well…Um…My Dad would kill you!"

"Damn right I would," Hades eyes flashed dangerously

"Then I'd kill you!" Zeus told him

"So would I," Artemis had her bow ready

"Guys stay out of this!" Thalia told the Gods and Goddesses, "This is mine and Nico's matter,"

"Eeek!" Aphrodite squeed "I still think you two are cute together,"

Nico and Thalia looked mortified.

"Eww! They're cousins," Hazel pointed out, looking disgusted

"Not to mention she's a hunter," Frank reminded Aphrodite

"Oh shut up!" Aphrodite looked disgruntled, why must everyone ruin her relationship plans, she was the goddess of love, she obviously knew everything to do with love. And Beauty, of course.

"**That's reassuring." I thought about all the bronze statues in the parks, plazas, and buildings of New York. There had to be hundreds, maybe thousands.**

**Then a ball of green light exploded in the evening sky. Greek fire, somewhere over the East River.**

"**We have to hurry," I said. And we ran for the Vespa.**

**We parked outside Battery Park, at the lower tip of Manhattan where the Hudson and East Rivers came together and emptied into the bay.**

"**Wait here," I told Annabeth.**

"**Percy, you shouldn't go alone."**

"I don't think she breathes underwater?" Poseidon said, looking slightly smug

"Duh, that's obvious." Athena rolled her eyes

"**Well, unless you can breathe underwater . . ."**

**She sighed. "You are so annoying sometimes."**

"**Like when I'm right? Trust me, I'll be fine. I've got the curse of Achilles now. I'll all invincible and stuff."**

**Annabeth didn't look convinced. "Just be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you. I mean, because we need you for the battle."**

"Awwww! She doesn't want anything to happen to you!" Aphrodite cooed, everyone ignored her

**I grinned. "Back in a flash."**

**I clambered down the shoreline and waded into the water.**

**Just for you non-sea-god types out there, don't go swimming m New York Harbor. It may not be as filthy as it was in my mom's day, but that water will still probably make you grow a third eye or have mutant children when you grow up.**

"Why would we if we have Miami Beach or the local gala?" Leo said

**I dove into the murk and sank to the bottom. I tried to find the spot where the two rivers' currents seemed equal-where they met to form the bay. I figured that was the best place to get their attention.**

"**HEY!" I shouted in my best underwater voice. The sound echoed in the darkness. "I heard you guys are so polluted you're embarrassed to show your faces. Is that true?"**

Thalia raised an eyebrow, "Really Percy, you think insulting them is the best way to call them?"

Percy glared at her, "Go to hell," He spat

"NO WAY!" Nico cried, "She'll traumatize me and dad for eternity,"

"Oh, poor Nico is afraid of big bad Thalia," Percy cooed mockingly

"Death breath should be afraid," Thalia said with wild eyes

Nico pouted, "What is your problem with me?!"

"Nothing," Percy and Thalia said together, " We just like teasing you,"

Thalia and Percy look at each other and blush.

"OMG's! They're blushing!" Aphrodite squealed

Artemis glared at Percy, "And to think I actually liked you,"

"OMG's!" Apollo cried sounding like Aphrodite, "Sis, actually likes a boy!"

Everyone rolled their eyes

**A cold current rippled through the bay, churning up plumes of garbage and silt.**

"**I heard the East River is more toxic," I continued, "but the Hudson smells worse. Or is it the other way around?"**

**The water shimmered. Something powerful and angry was watching me now. I could sense its presence . . . or maybe two presences.**

**I was afraid I'd miscalculated with the insults. What if they just blasted me without showing themselves? **

"You wouldn't have gotten hurt anyway, your god side and the Achilles will save you," Poseidon assured

**But these were New York river gods. I figured their instinct would be to get in my face.**

**Sure enough, two giant forms appeared in front of me. At first, they were just dark brown columns of silt, denser than the water around them. Then they grew legs, arms, and scowling faces.**

**The creature on the left looked disturbingly like a telkhine. His face was wolfish. His body was vaguely like a seal's-sleek black with flipper hands and feet. His eyes glowed radiation green.**

"The East river,"

**The dude on the right was more humanoid. He was dressed in rags and seaweed, with a chain-mail coat made of bottle caps and old plastic six-pack holders. His face was blotchy with algae, and his beard was overgrown. His deep blue eyes burned with anger.**

"The Hudson."

**The seal, who had to be the god of the East River, said, "Are you trying to get yourself killed, kid? Or are you just extra stupid?"**

**The bearded spirit of the Hudson scoffed. "You're the expert on stupid, East."**

"**Watch it, Hudson," East growled. "Stay on your side of the island and mind your business."**

"**Or what? You'll throw another garbage barge at me?"**

"Wow! They sound like little kids," Nico said,

"Thalia scoffed, "you're one to speak Nico,"

Nico just pouted

**They floated toward each other, ready to fight.**

"**Hold it!" I yelled. "We've got a bigger problem."**

"**The kid's right," East snarled. "Let's both kill him, then we'll fight each other."**

"**Sounds good," Hudson said.**

"How did you get yourself out of this?" Poseidon asked, looking slightly worried

"By a birthday present you gave me when I was 15," Percy said simply

**Before I could protest, a thousand scraps of garbage surged off the bottom and flew straight at me from both directions: broken glass, rocks, cans, tires.**

**I was expecting it, though. The water in front of me thickened into a shield. The debris bounced off harmlessly. Only one piece got through-a big chunk of glass that hit my chest and probably should've killed me, but it shattered against my skin.**

"Wow that is powerful!" Harry said staring at Percy bewilderment

"I'm not that strong," Percy denied, flushing red

"Bullshit seaweed brain." Annabeth said, "You are strong,"

"Annabeth!" Athena scolded, "No swearing!"

"Sorry mom," Annabeth flushed bright red

Nico sniggered at her and then got smacked on the arm by Thalia.

**The two river gods stared at me.**

"**Son of Poseidon?" East asked.**

**I nodded.**

"**Took a dip in the Styx?" Hudson asked.**

"**Yep."**

**They both made disgusted sounds.**

"**Well, that's perfect," East said. "Now how do we kill him?"**

Thalia chuckled, "they seem pretty hell-bent on killing you,"

"**We could electrocute him," Hudson mused. "If I could just find some jumper cables-"**

"**Listen to me!" I said. "Kronos's army is invading Manhattan.'"**

"**Don't you think we know that?" East asked. "I can feel his boats right now. They're almost across."**

"**Yep," Hudson agreed. "I got some filthy monsters crossing my waters too."**

"**So stop them," I said. "Drown them. Sink their boats."**

"**Why should we?" Hudson grumbled. "So they invade Olympus. What do we care?"**

"Meanies," Zeus growled under his breath

"**Because I can pay you." I took out the sand dollar my father had given me for my birthday.**

"Oh, that was genius of me," Poseidon said, looking proud

"Maybe it was me who suggested you give it to sea spawn," Athena suggested

"Why must everything clever have to be you?" Poseidon said sulked

"Because, I am the Goddess of Wisdom." Athena said as if it were obvious

**The river gods' eyes widened.**

"**It's mine!" East said. "Give it here, kid, and I promise none of Kronos's scum are getting across the East River."**

"**Forget that," Hudson said. "That sand dollar's mine, unless you want me to let all those ships cross the Hudson."**

"**We'll compromise." I broke the sand dollar in half. A ripple of clean fresh water spread out from the break, as if all the pollution in the bay were being dissolved.**

"Definitely my idea," Athena said, smiling superiorly

"**You each get half," I said. "In exchange, you keep all of Kronos's forces away from Manhattan."**

"**Oh, man," Hudson, whimpered, reaching out for the sand dollar. "It's been so long since I was clean."**

"**The power of Poseidon," East River murmured. "He's a jerk, but he sure knows how to sweep pollution away."**

"Humph! How could they call me a jerk?! I am a good man/God." Poseidon complained, looking around at Hades and Zeus expectedly

Hades and Zeus look at each other, then burst out laughing.

"You? A good man? Are you kidding me?" Hades said between laughs

Poseidon scowled at them, grumbling under his breath about 'evil brothers'

"Don't worry Poseidon, you are a good person. Even if you do make mistakes," Hestia said kindly

"Thank you Hestia," Poseidon said happily

**They looked at each other, and then spoke as one: "It's a deal."**

**I gave them each a sand dollar half, which they held reverently.**

"**Um, the invaders?" I prompted.**

**East flicked his hand. "They just got sunk."**

**Hudson snapped his fingers. "Bunch of hellhounds just took a dive."**

"That was pretty damn fast," Leo said, his mouth gaping

"They are Gods," Jason rolled his eyes

"**Thank you," I said. "Stay clean."**

**As I rose toward the surface, East called out, "Hey, kid, any time you got a sand dollar to spend, come on back. Assuming you live."**

"**Curse of Achilles," Hudson snorted. "They always think that'll save them, don't they?"**

"**If only he knew," East agreed. They both laughed, dissolving into the water.**

"What do they mean?" Percy asked

The Olympians all look at each other and then shake their head at Percy. In a 'don't ask' kind of way. Percy looked annoyed.

**Back on the shore, Annabeth was talking on her cell phone, but she hung up as soon as she saw me. She looked pretty shaken.**

"**It worked," I told her. "The rivers are safe."**

"**Good," she said. "Because we've got other problems. Michael Yew just called. Another army is marching over the Williamsburg Bridge. The Apollo cabin needs help. And Percy, the monster leading the enemy . . . it's the Minotaur."**

"No! Not again!" Poseidon said suddenly looking worried

"Err…Dad…I have…Achilles." Percy reminded

Poseidon's eyes lit up, most of the worry faded.

"Finally. I'm done!" Ares sighed dropping the book on the floor.

"Okay then-" Athena began, but she could not continue because a scream and a loud CRASH! Rang through Olympus.

The Cullen's, Bella and the Werewolves all locked eyes, one thought running through their minds: Edward.

**REVIEW! whether it's good or bad, I need to know! :D**

**Maleena xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **


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